Are Christians required to tithe?

KJV Bible | 4/9/06 | ScubieNuc

[txroadkill]

Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 1 CORINTHIANS 16:2

[Choose Ye This Day]

If you want to get your financial house in order and get out of debt, my advice is to tithe. The Lord will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon you. Read Malachi 3 and take a look at what the Lord promises us.

You're free to do what you want. We tithe and we have been blessed time and time again, when we were in the most desperate circumstances.

We don't do it to get the blessings. We do it because everything we have belongs to God anyway; everything we have he has given to us. I find it impossible to be stingy when He has already given me so much.

[GSlob]

"If you want to get your financial house in order and get out of debt, my advice is to tithe."
True: one should be tithing full 15% into a 401(k), collect matching employer contributions [if any], and then fund a Roth as well, or even start with a Roth. And then the financial house will surely be in order, if not immediately, then soon thereafter.

[caseinpoint]

I appreciate your analysis and careful attention to this matter. I can't speak to whether you should consider tithing a commandment of the New Testament church. I can say that my husband and I tithe and more. We apply the admonition and promise of Malachi 3:8-10 (Authorized King James Version): "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me, But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

You can argue the legal points and there are many knowledgeable posters who will do so. I will only testify of my own experience that that promise still holds true.

[DallasMike]

Trust me on this one because I had to learn the hard way:  if you're in debt, the first thing you should do is tithe. God will bless your actions.

[Choose Ye This Day]

10% of my gross goes to tithing. I pay the Lord first.

Then I do the 401 (just enough to get the match) and then the Roth.

[GSlob]

'You are on the right path, comrades!', as the Lenin quote goes. I pay myself first: max the Roth, max 401k, and what's left after the necessities goes into taxable investment accounts.

[John 6.66=Mark of the Beast?]

NO! We are to be cheerful givers whatever God has purposed in our hearts.

I have seen more of God's sheep beat to death with the Mal 3. WHERE WILL A MAN ROB GOOOOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First one has to look at what the tithe was for; it was for the Levites who were without an inheritance in the promised land.

What was the tithe to be paid with an increase of the land of Israel not of money. You actually got penalized if you gave money.

Every seven years there was no tithe have you ever seen a church tell the sheepple we don't need your tithe this year. NO!

[ScubieNuc]

I did look at Malachi 3 and here is a quick summary (borrowed from blueletterbible.com) of what's going on there...

"Now, when Nehemiah came back the second time, the worship in the temple had been forsaken because the people were not bringing tithes and offerings into the temple. Thus, the priest had left the ministry in the temple and they'd gone out into the fields, and they were cultivating fields and they were working in order to provide for their own necessities for their own survival. Thus, the temple worship was neglected when Nehemiah returned.

So he called the people together and he rebuked the people for the fact that the priest had to leave the ministry of the temple and go out into the fields to work to support themselves.

However, there is a divine law involved in giving. The law is basically expressed in the New Testament in these words, "Give, and it shall be given unto you. Measured out, pressed down, and running over, shall men give into your bosom" (Luke 6:38). Now that's a spiritual law of God. The more you give, the more you will receive. Paul the apostle expressed it by saying, "He who gives sparingly will receive sparingly, but he who gives bountifully will receive bountifully" (II Corinthians 9:6). It's a divine spiritual law."

I do believe that God will bless us the more we trust him, and that definately extends into our finances. My point is more toward the 10% rule (tithe) that many try to push. Tithe is an Old Testament ritual given to the Children of Israel. Giving is still needed but the 10% is not required.

Currently, the average giving by American Christians is about 2%. When I think of what American Christians could do if the average was 10%, it does boggle the mind. Praise God that there are people like you out there. Pray that God give me the direction to get my financial debts erased.

Sincerely

[PAR35]

Look for a church in your area which offers the program from Crown Ministries (or get your church to start one). http://www.crown.org/

You are on the right track.

[ScubieNuc]

"I have seen more of God's sheep beat to death with the Mal 3. WHERE WILL A MAN ROB GOOOOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

That's exactly what I have seen too. Tithing gets turned into a punishing stick or a righteous work people try to do to earn salvation or God's favor.

Maybe my point is too nuanced. I do believe financial responcibility is required of a Christian, and giving is also part of stewardship, and stewardship envolves trusting God in all things. However, tithing is a specific guideline not given to New Testament Christians.

Sincerely

[ScubieNuc]

Thanks for the link.

Sincerely

[stainlessbanner]

God gave it to you, He can take it all back.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Churches and Preachers pound on and on about Tithing, however ?
They missed the whole meaning of Malachi.
Preachers only quote those verses in Malachi about ( MONEY ) but, don't READ !!! or neglect to teach you the whole book of Malachi and get the WHOLE MEANING of what GOD is trying to say to Israel in that book.
The whole book of Malachi is about the " People's attitude " towards God and how they have grown cold in their hearts towards God.
God does not need our tithes, God does not want our tithes, God wants ALL OF YOU.
The first commandment, thou shall love your God with all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul.
In the first place, the " STORE HOUSE " was the place were the priest and levities were to place the show bread, remember in the movie The Ten Commandments ? were Moses ordered them to open the store houses of grain ?
Could it be ? that God was talking to the priest ? the leaders of the tribes ? for not bringing the tithe to the store house ? because the leaders represent the whole nation of Israel.
Could it be that the leaders and priest could be robbing God ?
I have to do some research, however, some would be surprised to learn that in the Old Testament, that God actually told the people of Israel that if your TRAVEL is to far to the temple, or have no way of getting to the temple, that you ( MAY ) take the tithe and turn it into money and spend it on " WHAT YOUR HEART SO DESIRES ".

[miliantnutcase]

Too many people think they can buy God off. I don't think he's going to send you to hell for not tithing 20%.

[restornu]

if you are secular than you don't really tithing in the sense that a believer would?

[Choose Ye This Day]

Nobody's trying to buy off God. Let me rephrase that. I'M not trying to buy off God. As if I could.

Tithing means 10%, not 20%. "Tenth part."

[Choose Ye This Day]

I have no idea what Lenin has to do with anything.

[John 6.66=Mark of the Beast?]

"or a righteous work people try to do to earn salvation or God's favor".

I have seen this where it become a little clik with the pastor and others in church where you get invited to the pastors bbq's the elders Christmas party, ect. I believe that one should not muzzle the ox either, yet I have seen pastors driving new cars and vans and each of their children going to private schools and having the best of everything and I've seen people barley getting by because of the Mal 3 weekly beatings. I've seen churches that were doing fine and then deciding for add on or a new this or new that for the church and people signing pledge cards and life happens and pledges not met and you can figure the rest of the story out for yourself. I personally would rather go to a house church small intimate where needs are discussed and needs are met and this usually happens between the people in the fellowship. This is the closest I have ever cam to where two or more are gathered in my Name I will be there!