And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
Lev 27:30
  Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Deut 14:22


Tithing is giving back to God a tenth of all He has given to us and of all our increase
Jesus also commended tithing in luke 11:42. He says " ,  for ye tithe ,  these ought ye to have done

The purpose of tithing as seen in the old testament is to
1. To support the poor and needy
But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. {oliveyard: or, olive trees}Exodus 23:11

In those days the harvest of every seventh year was given to the poor

15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

2. To support the levites
The levites were those that served at the temple. The Lord required a special third year tithe

At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates and the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
Deut 14:28&29


Now following are the purpose of tithing according to the new testament
1.a To support the poor and needy according in God's family

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

b. To support teachers and preacher: The teachers and preachers and leaders of the church were to be supported from the tithes and offerings given by those to whom they ministered

Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
1st Cor 9:14
Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Gal 6:6



To those who give, God makes a special promise
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Luke 6:38
The above scripture lets us know that we control the flow of God's blessings into our lives. If we give a spoonful, we receive a spoonful and if we give bountifully, we receive same.

Tithing is an act of faith, it expresses faith, it does not buy God's blessings but releases God's blessings upon our lives
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. {pour, : Heb. empty out}Mal 3:10
Finally, those who tithe are expressing their faith in God in the most practical way possible. They are saying " i believe the 90% i have left after tithing, has God's blessings on it and that with God's blessing, the 90% can buy much more than the 100% would, without His blessings.

IT TAKES FAITH TO BELIEVE THAT

mabel, thank you for resurrecting the most controvercial thread on nairaland's religion board. lets see what will be the outcome this time around.as for me my decision on tithing is personnal, let everyone be convinced in his hearth concerning the issue, and do accordingly.

mabell:

And all the[color=#990000] tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
Lev 27:30
  Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Deut 14:22
[/color]

Tithing is giving back to God a tenth of all He has given to us and of[b] all our increase[/b]

I'm just going to pick on one point and hammer it in before this thread runs riot with everybody saying this that and the other.

[size=17pt]How did you see all of our increase in the bible? All I saw was the increase from the land. [/size]

We increase in more things than the increase of the land. Our hair length increases, our bank accounts increases, our height increases (if we are of a certain age), our knowledge increases . . . our misdemeanours increases . . .