....Clearly, the giving ('collective wealth') of the early Church was shared by all, in as much as the people obviously discussed their needs so that they could help each other meet those needs, and feed each other on a daily basis. Other scriptures support this conclusion, such as 'carry each other's burdens' (Galatians 6:2), 'love by actions' (1 John 3:18), There are clues in the New Testament about giving, such as the glimpses of the early Church provided by Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37 where everything was shared, every need was met, and there were no needy persons among them. There is also the picture in Acts 6 where the Apostles devoted themselves to the Word, and chose 7 men to oversee the daily distribution of food among the believers.

The picture of the Church that emerges from these scriptures differs RADICALLY from the Old Testament. In the OT, the Levite priests were the recipients of the tithe, and the 12 tribes of Israel were responsible to bring the tithe to the priests. The reason for that was simple, the Levites did not receive any land as an inheritance to raise flocks and herds or grow fruit and grain. They worked in the temple day and night, so someone had to feed them and their families.

Now we turn the page to the New Testament, and suddenly EVERY BELIEVER is benefiting from the offerings of the Church, not just a select few.

The reason for that became clear when the Lord showed me 1 Peter 2:5 and 9, and Revelation 1:6, in which the Word says we are ALL PRIESTS. The Word of God also makes it clear that as believers in Jesus Christ, we are SONS of God (1 John 3:1, Galatians 3:26), and Jesus said in Matthew 17:25-27 that the SONS ARE FREE (exempt from the temple tax). It is also very important to note that Stephen and Paul stated clearly in Acts 7:48 and Acts 17:24 (respectively) that God does NOT live in houses made by human hands. Rather, God now lives in US - we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).

If we believe the Word of God about who we are (Priests, Sons, the Temple of the Holy Spirit), we can clearly see another of the fatal flaws of trying to re-implement the OT "tithe" in the NT church. The Biblical pattern for the OT tithe is that it was the NON-priest tribes (the 12 tribes of Jacob) who brought the tithe to the temple. The priest tribe (Levi) received the tithe. In fact, the priests (Levi) could NOT tithe because they didn't grow food! Far more important than that though, is that God was the inheritance of the Levites, and as such the Levites were WHOLLY consecrated/devoted to serving God. In other words, instead of getting off with giving just 10% of their food-stuffs to God as did the other tribes, the Levites had to give 100% of themselves to God!

The Levite priesthood is the picture (a fore-shadow) of New Testament believers, who have also received God as their inheritance by giving themselves WHOLLY (100%) to Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:24-25).
That all believers are IN Jesus Christ who is our High Priest forever and as such all believers are priests, sons, and the temple of the Holy Spirit, is the basis and reason for every believer sharing in the gifts ('collective wealth') of the Church.

Following the train of thought that ALL Priests are to share in what is given, and backing it up with the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40 wherein He makes it clear that giving to His "brothers" (all believers) is the same as giving to Christ directly, we need to assess who is really being robbed when ministers quote Malachi 3:8-9 to their congregations of believers.
8. "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, `How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.
9. You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me.
Please take a look at Malachi 3:5 with me:
5. "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.

Notice that one of the things God is angry about is that laborers are defrauded of their wages. Owing that Malachi and Nehemiah were written at about the same time, I believe the fraud (robbery) spoken of in Malachi 3, is described in detail in Nehemiah 13:4-13. In this text we see how that robbery was taking place. What I gather from the scripture, is that it was NOT that the Israelite's were withholding the tithe from God, but rather Eliashib the priest opened the temple store rooms to Tobiah and the portions of food assigned to the Levites were not given to them. (Tobiah was an Ammonite who worshipped the pagan-god Molech according to Ezra 2:59-60 and Nehemiah 2:10). In fact, Nehemiah 13:12 says ALL JUDAH brought the tithe to the storerooms, and once TRUSTWORTHY priests were put in charge of the storerooms, the Levite priests once again received their portion (verse 13).

The 'robbing of God' wasn't taking place with the 'bringing' of the tithe, it was taking place with the 'distribution' of the tithe to the priests. The wicked priest Eliashib and Tobiah the Ammonite (pagan) were apparently raiding the storerooms of the temple for themselves. What God considered robbery (fraud) was withholding the tithe from His priests, who abandoned their service to God when they weren't fed.

And there in Nehemiah 13:4-13 you have THE VERY picture of what is happening in the Church today: the priesthood of believers is being robbed by those who are in charge of the 'temple store room'.
Brethren, EVERY BELIEVER IS A PRIEST and as a priest YOU are entitled to share in the gifts (collective wealth) of the Church to meet YOUR needs (Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37), for food and drink (Acts 6:1 and Matthew 25:35), for shelter, clothes and medical expenses (Matthew 25:35-36).
Brethren, you aren't the ones robbing God. The ones robbing God are the very ones who are accusing you!
To be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR in this matter:
• Sons do NOT tithe. The SONS are FREE. WE are ALL SONS (Matthew 17:27, 1 John 3:1, Galatians 3:26).
• Priests do not tithe from their own labors, they receive the tithes of those who do. WE are all PRIESTS (Numbers 18:20-23, Hebrews 7:5, 1 Peter 2:5 and 9, Revelation 1:6).
• The tithe was brought to the temple in Jerusalem. The temple is NO LONGER a building. WE are now the TEMPLE (Malachi 3:10, Acts 7:48-50, Acts 17:24, 1 Corinthians 3:16).
It is for THESE REASONS the early Church shared EVERYTHING with each other!

Who do we give to?

Atheist:-D:
Who do we give to?

dats a very intelligent question..luk around you,u wil find d needy,d homeless,d orphans,u can give 2 establishments dat want 2 change lives..overall,give not because its a necessity but because u r moved deep down in ur heart 2 give..
Nb:dont give wit d intent 2 receive,dats a selfish motive 4 God loves a generous giver(2 corinthians 9:7)
stay blessd!

brilapluz:
dats a very intelligent question..luk around you,u wil find d needy,d homeless,d orphans,u can give 2 establishments dat want 2 change lives..overall,give not because its a necessity but because u r moved deep down in ur heart 2 give..
Nb:dont give wit d intent 2 receive,dats a selfish motive 4 God loves a generous giver(2 corinthians 9:7)
stay blessd!

Ok. So based on your lengthy text it is ok not to give tithe. I am cool with that.