Controversial preacher and coordinator of
Healing Wings, a Pentecostal Christian
fellowship, Dr. Femi Aribisala, in this interview with GBENRO ADEOYE, insists that Bible’s David did not kill Goliath.
In one of your write-ups, you described pastors who collect tithes as thieves.

Are you saying that tithing is not biblical?

There are so many things that are “biblical”
but have nothing to do with the kingdom
of God. The kingdom of God is about God
and his sons. The son of a king does not
pay taxes to the king, his father. Sons of
God don’t tithe. Tithe means giving ten per
cent of your income to God. However,
everything that sons of God have belongs to
God. So tithing cannot apply to us.
The tithing currently instituted in churches
is all 419. Money is not acceptable as tithe
in the scriptures. And yet, our thieving
pastors today only accept money. Tithes
were only paid by landowners in the
scriptures, but our thieving pastors collect
tithes from everybody. Tithes were only
collected by Levites, but thieving pastors,
who are neither Jewish nor Levites, are
now the ones collecting them. Tithes were
meant for the poor, the widows and
strangers in the scriptures, but our thieving
pastors now use them to build their
empires. They use them to build cathedrals;
buy jets; establish schools and banks etc.
Those pastors who collect tithes today are
nothing but thieves and robbers, according
to Jesus’ categorisation of bad pastors.

But Malachi 3:10 says it should be done?

Malachi 3:10 does not establish the
principles of tithing. The principles were
established by Moses. Malachi is addressed
to priests; it is not addressed to the
congregation. Malachi is Old Testament.
We are now under a New Testament.
Pastors cannot insist on the one hand that
we are no longer under the law, and then
cherry-pick a convenient aspect of the law
as being still applicable today. If we should
pay tithes today then we should also obey
other aspects of the Mosaic law including
stoning disobedient children and adulterers
to death. Malachi is not our Lord and
Saviour. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour.
Christians should be instructed by Jesus and
not by Malachi or Moses.

Source: punchng

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