[size=15pt]Tithe collectors is this verse missing from your Bible or is it only my Bible that has it?[/size]

[size=15pt]2 Corinthians 9:7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.[/size]

[size=15pt]Why do penticostal  pastors like Malachi 3:10 better than 2 Corinthians 9:7?[/size]

MrBible:

[size=15pt]Tithe collectors is this verse missing from your Bible or is it only my Bible that has it?[/size]

You should be asking if tithe collectors own or use a bible, i think tithe collectors in cec use the ROR

I have no issues with the context of tithing. What I do take offense with in a deep way is the low-ballism some ministers go about it. But then again it is not their place to read your bible for u. U should do that on your own and judge what someone else tells u.

If anyone wants to know everything about tithing, there is a Full chapter dedicated to it in Deuteronomy 26. Oinstead of all these one verse lowballism and truncation to further agendas.

There a whole chapter tells u what u should actually be doing if it is tithe u say u are doing. And it all doesn't go to church. It can go to church, widows, families in need etc.

Truth has come to stay.

Fakes, go find honest work

I salute all of you guys that are trying to free unsuspecting people from the antics of greedy pastors masquerading as men of God.

Lol, these pastors are on to a great con! My friend has fallen on hard times (lost his job) and instead of working hard, submitting CV's and generally using his God given abilities to pick himself up he is busy attending night vigils, fasting, praying and generally acting like a lobotomised sheep. Last straw was when I noticed his BB was missing and learnt the mugu gave it to his pastor; now what kind of Pastor takes something off someone that's so down on his luck?

I'm a Christian myself but it's crazy the way Nigerians just don't get that a lot (not all) of these Pastors are con-men.

On the issue of giving up 10% of your income, I'd do it in a heartbeat if I knew the money was going to the poor and needy; however as I know it's for private jets, purchasing hair products to do Jheri curl and all other sorts of other banalities I will definitely pass.

Each to his own however, it works for some people but for me, I'm in 100% agreement with Frosbel; it's a S.C.A.M!

I think christains should start questioning their thieving pastors just like marthin luther challenged the authority of he pope to dictate to them.Is this also part of sacrament ?

The first thing My momma Taught me when i started working is d issue of tithe she told me to always pay my tithe and God would Open doors for me looking back now God has really be astronomical. No Pastor I repeat NO Pastor can compel me to pay tithe i do it cause i believe in what the bible says and what i was taught by my momma. nuff said

dorox:

How about this video addressing some of theses issues from a different perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMfX3uA15RM

Malachi 3:8–10

8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ yIn your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

@MACMILLAN,and who was GOD talking to in Malachi? was it to mankind or the Levites who defaulted sacrificing onto God what they(levites )had collected from the other 11 tribes of Isreal? I am waiting for your reply

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. However most are led by their pastors these days. When Jesus comes back to the earth, will he still find faith on earth.

I wonder if these pastors don't fear God at all or are they not seeing what we are seeing, they serve money and extort money through whatever means from church memebers. i used to pay tithe religiously but was always sad at the way its been used by the churches. My spirit is always more at peace when i find a need in someones life or in the church and fill it with my tithe. Ive consulted my spirit and my spirit that has led me to do right in other instances will not lead me wrong in the case of tithing.

All we do is enrich the pastors with our tithes and its really unfair. People are suffering in the church. Some of these pastors that are really working cannot feed their family adequately. Let the Spirit lead is all i will say.

Many pastors/churches have a special sermon on tithin during service; the put the congregation into so much fear that they give reluctantly and not cheerfully, they emphasise so much on sowing seeds to build their empires.
When I attend church, I dont allow anyone to make me have a feeling of guilt by forcing me to pay tithe. I give as the spirit moves me,

Hello All, So, Let me provide the ANSWER, the TRUTH on this issue of tithing. This Tithing issue has been discussed before here on Nairaland a long time ago, and I had saved some excerpt from the post back then, which I have revised a bit based on my studies. There is also a link at the Bottom of my post (which is even longer, but if you TRULY want to be free, and help FREE others from the THIEVES, then I encourage you to be strong and read both my post, and the write-up at the LINK at the bottom of my post. God Bless and Open your Eyes as you read. Amen.)

I will cut my post into THREE (so you will see three consecutive posts from me), so that my post doesn’t get blocked.

“ will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say where in 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 store house and prove me now here with saith the lord of hosts if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, that there would not be room enough to receive it” Malachi 3 : 8 – 10

The above scripture is probably one of the most quoted scripture in the bible. Unfortunately it is being quoted out of context and used as a weapon of mass intimidation, manipulation, extortion, oppression, cajolery and outright lies and deceit by some church leaders to collect ten percent of the gross income of their church members who have been hoodwinked into believing that they are doing God’s will.

Before going into the details of this discourse, I want to state categorically that I am a God loving, bible believing Christian who has the fear of God. This article wasn’t written to undermine any church or pastor but to let people realize the truth about tithes and remove the yoke of tithes being placed by some pastors upon them. I also want to state categorically that I strongly believe in giving to the church for the sole purpose of propagating God’s work and the Christian ministry. I would also continue to encourage all Christians to give their all to God as exemplified by the widow’s mite which Jesus Christ himself referred to in the bible (but to do so not out of compulsion, but out of free will, and if told personally by God/the Holy Spirit to do so).

LETS BEGIN:- On Malachi 3 : 8 – 10, the first question one should ask is “who was this message directed at?” The answer lies in Numbers 18 : 25 -28 -- “the lord commanded Moses to say to the Levites when you receive from the Israelites the tithe that the lord gives you as your possession, you must present a tenth of it as a special contribution to the lord. This special contribution will be considered as the equivalent of the offering which the farmer makes of new grain and wine. In this way you would also present the special contribution which belongs to the lord from all the tithes which you receive from the Israelites. You are to give this special contribution for the lord to Aaron the priest”; -- from the verses it is clear that it was the Levites that were directed to pay a tithe of the tithe they collected from the Israelites to the priest who represents God and NOT the people of Israel. It was the Levites that were being referred to in the book of Malachi as those who rob God. A thorough study of the book of Malachi would reveal that in those days the Levites were collecting the tithe from the people of Israel and not remitting a tithe of it to the house of God, hence Malachi’s statement which is now being quoted out of context. To understand what tithes really means one would have to understand the social reasons and cultural / religious setting within which it was situated. This concept of tithes was properly explained in the bible as stated in the laws of the tithe found in the books of Lev. 27 : 30 – 34, Numb 18 : 25 – 31 and Deut. 14 : 22 – 29. On reading those passages one would understand what tithes really mean; unfortunately most pastors prefer to neglect those passages that tell us the true meaning of tithes and emphasize on Malachi 3 : 8 - 10 which was directed to the Levites of that time to remit the priest’s share of the tithes they collected to him. It is worthy of note that Malachi does not even define what tithes is and how it should be paid. The definition of tithes as practiced today was [b]manufactured by modern day pastors to suit their purpose [/b]as it is completely in contrast with what is in the bible and it only seeks to manipulate Christians to believe that God requests 10 per cent of their gross income from them.

So what is a tithe and why did God request it be paid to the Levites? The answer is in the following passages: Lev. 27 : 30 – 32 -- “one tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit belongs to the lord. If a man wishes to buy back any of it he must pay the standard price plus an additional 20 per cent. One in every ten domestic animal belongs to the lord when the animals are counted, every tenth one belongs to the lord.”; also Deut. 26 : 12 -- “ every third year give the tithe a tenth of your crops to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans and the widows, so that in every community they will have all they need to eat”. These passages clearly tell us what a tithe is and the reason why God directed the people of Israel to pay tithes. It is evident that it was a social arrangement for the less privileged in the Jewish society of that time, it was also meant to take care of the Levites because they have no land or property of their own (today pastors are amongst the wealthiest property owners in Nigeria). This social arrangement is obviously not relevant to us today. It also states that every third year is the year of tithing (i,e, tithing to the Levites…etc) not the weekly/monthly tithes being extorted from church members today. Another passage that illustrates the true meaning of tithes properly and also states clearly that tithe is not money is Deut. 14 : 22 -29 which states that “ set aside a tithe a tenth of all that your fields produce each year then go to the one place where the lord your God has chosen to be worshiped and there in his presence eat the tithes of your grain, wine and olive oil and first born of your cattle and sheep. Do this so that you may learn to have reverence for the lord your God always. If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the lord has blessed you with, then sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship spend it on whatever you want beef, lamb, wine, beer and there in the presence of the lord you and your family are to eat and enjoy yourselves. [b]Do not neglect the Levites who live in your towns for they have no property of their own. At the end of every third year bring the tithe of all your crops and store it in your towns. This is food for the Levites [/b]since they own no property and for the orphans, foreigners and widows who live in your towns. Do this and the lord your God would bless you in everything you do” from the above passage, it is very clear that tithe is not money and it is not the exclusive preserve of the Levites (i.e. the church, tabernacle worker, worshippers back then whose fulltime job was to serve in church as worshippers, etc). It was a religious practice in those days to give reverence to God and to celebrate God in his place of worship. The Levites were only included for [b]the main reason that they have no land of their own; that reason is not relevant in today’s society. [/b]Yet some pastors would tell you that you are cursed and would not go to heaven if you don’t give them 10% of your gross income.

Now, if all the money being collected (fraudulently) was being used to propagate God’s work solely then that would not have been a problem, but the truth as we all know today is that this money is being used to finance lavish, flamboyant and exotic life styles that is unbecoming of a man who truly claims to serve God as a pastor who is expected to be meek and humble like Jesus Christ was. Now, before some people attack me, I am not saying the pastors should wear torn clothes or look poor; because to take the gospel/good news to the people you need to look presentable, right?

Now, even Jesus when he was on earth didn’t talk much about tithing (and he talked about a lot of important things). If it was such a BIG issue and people were “robbing God”, would he not have (even if its to shed some light on it; instead he only referenced it briefly like 3 times)?

“But even Abraham Tithed” you say? Well, yes, but Abraham’s tithe was “Faith Based Abrahamic Covenant Tithing”, meaning – he did it because he felt like it, and had a purpose for doing it -- it was voluntary (Not law based, so doesn’t count), it was strictly on his PROFIT from war spoils (so if you want to compare it to today, you have to take care of ALL your responsibilities/debt/what you owe any/everybody, and then what you have left is really then your profit, which you may tithe on), and it was Faith Based. Please read the articles at the Link at the Bottom of my post for more explanations.

In reality, in today’s world, since nearly everyone is not a farmer, we can kind of justify that “okay, your monetary income is maybe the same as if you had a farm back then and had some produce, so you should tithe on it”. If we were to do that and then tithe accordingly, we should still ensure the tithing is done based on the definition of “what a tithe is” and “how and when it was instructed in the bible to be given” (i.e. only every 3 YEARS/ THIRD YEAR, was the tithe given to the Levites/Church, and the Levites/Church are the ones who would then take out “a tithe” from their own to give to the “Priest/Pastor” as his “salary/means of sustenance”. For the first and second years’ tithe, the bible demonstrated as we read in my post above that everyone ate the tithe basically, and in reality, it didn’t get to the hands of the Levites/Church at all; instead the Levites/Church workers were invited to such feasts).

Finally, this article is not meant for us as Christians to revolt against the church or pastors, neither is it meant to stop you from giving (Note that your TITHE and your OFFERING are two different things) it is just meant to establish the biblical truth about tithes and remove the yoke from people who labor to pay tithes ( not as instructed of them by God, but by the incorrect instructions of their pastors) while their pastors are living luxuriously. Today many pastors see the church as their personal business and even fraudulent people are opening up churches so that they can have access to people’s tithes and use it for their personal “luxuries and businesses”. I encourage all of us as Christians to remain vigilant and continue to serve God in truth and in faith!


So again, For A FULL revelation on TITHING (and to Buttress the points here, which are shortened due to space) visit:-- www.tithinginfo.com


PS:
Notice this telling bit of history from the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1963, volume 22, page 253, ‘TITHES’). “Tithes in Christendom—The earliest authentic example of anything like a law of the State enforcing payment appears to occur in the capitularies [Ecclesiasticals] of Charlemagne at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century. Tithes were, by that enactment, to be applied to the maintenance of the bishop, clergy, the poor, and the fabric of the church. In the course of time the principle of payment of tithes was extended far beyond its original intention. Thus, they became transferable to laymen and saleable like ordinary property, despite the injunctions of the third Lateran Council; and they became payable out of sources of income [not just farming and herding, but other trades and occupations and salaries paid in the form of money] not originally tithable.”

The Catholic Church knows its own history. Here is how tithing got back into the Church after being absent for nearly five centuries:

“As the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law… The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the [canons] of the Council of Macon in 585.”—The Catholic Encyclopaedia.

They “extended” their base of tithe collecting to eventually include all forms of income. All Christian scholars know that although money was in wide use in ancient Israel, it was never a tithe-able commodity. But modern pastors don’t want tithes of goats or oil or corn, they want money–cold, hard cash! God has a word to the “shepherds of the sheep”, and it is the very same message that He had for the Levites in the book of Malachi. And it is this:

“My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have caused them to go astray” (Jer. 50:6).

Were Israelites aware that they were being led astray by their spiritual leaders? Not most, and neither are Christians today aware that they are being led astray by their spiritual leaders.

So again, For A FULL revelation on TITHING (and to Buttress the points here, which are shortened due to space) visit:-- www.tithinginfo.com.

To FREE your family, friends, relatives, and even enemies from the LIES, BONDAGE, and FRAUD, please refer them here to read this, and request that this post be made HOT priority on the front page. God Bless us all!

just like at d daystar church, no offence. I heard d best preachn hv had in a while but d fancy envelop with tithe n 9 other reasons 2 give an offern listed at back just got me smiln.am like for real.

@Frosbel,Plutonian etc. Thank you guys .people need to start reading the bible and educating themselves on the word of God. And stop believing every lie they are told. Pastors take bible verses and quote them to sell their propaganda.The word of God has been modified so much that the original meaning has been lost. Go to this website and read the bible In simple English . http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2026&version=CEV

@plutonian
Thanx for posting that article. The article was actually originally written by me about five years ago and I titled it 'The truth your pastor would not tell you about tithes'. Since then to God be the glory it has been published in several news media and has been widely circulated on the internet. It has served to help release several brethen from this yoke of tithing placed on believers by greedy men. I always feel proud when ever I come across this article, thanx for spreading the good news.

@All
Let's all continue to endeavour to let others know the truth about this false doctrine. It is only a matter of time that a critical mass would be reached and pastors would be openly challenged in their churches if they dare to preach this fraud.