(http://babajidesalu./2009/11/30/tunde-bakare-latter-rain-assembly-pastor-picks-issues-with-super-pastors-2/)

Q: What is the position of Christianity on tithing because some argue that it doesn’t have a place in Christianity?

A: I don’t have an opinion. I live by the book. I’ll tell you what is in the book. The first man to pay tithe was Abraham, when he met Melchizedek. And when he gave that tithe, the book of Hebrews says even Levi, who became a priest later, paid tithe while he was still in the loins of his father, Abraham. So, there was tithe before the law. There was tithe during the law. And Christ Jesus now came and said, this you ought to do, but you neglect the weightier matters of the law. This you ought to do and the other you do not neglect. If you are asking what is the agreed position in the New Testament, listen to Paul in I Corinthians Chapter 16, verse 1. At least I’m not reading from the Old Testament. I can tell you by the grace of God that at the Latter Rain Assembly, you can come and watch us, stay for about five or six weeks, you will not hear such a thing mentioned. You will know a church by the time you worship there for six or seven weeks.

We encourage our people because even the running of the place requires support of those who are worshipping there. Do you belong to any club or organisation? To join Ikoyi Club 1938, there are fees. It is the abuse that is the problem because it must come from your heart. Melchizedek did not demand tithe from Abraham. It was what Abraham did willingly. My opinion is that let every man be persuaded in his own heart. If it is not honour, then it is robbery. What the Bible says is honour the Lord with your susbstance and the first fruits of your increase so that your barns may be full. It has to be honour. It is the same word you use for your parents. The first time I gave my mother an allowance was when I was a Youth Corper. I gave her N50 out of my N200 monthly allowance because I was the only one she depended on. And from that year till today, my mother’s monthly allowance has increased, although I won’t tell you how much she gets now. She was 100 in October. I lost my father when I was two years old. So God allowed my mother to stay to see me through. Would I neglect my mother? So also will I not neglect the God who is the source of everything I have. But it has to be a matter of honour. There are three priesthoods in the Bible. The priesthood of Midian, the Levitical priesthood and the Melchizedek priesthood.

This is what is causing the problem. The priesthood of Midian is that of Jethro, the father in-law of Moses. It deals with strategies, administration and dedication of duties. It teaches you how to delegate so that you are not overworked. It does not raise sons, it raises workers. So in such ministries where Jethro principle is what they’re following, you’ll be hearing workers, workers, workers, instead of raising sons of God.

Leviticus priesthood is mainly about offering. And remember they were in the wilderness; no supermarket, no work and they didn’t go anywhere. There was nowhere to spend all the money they took from Egypt. So, it’s offering in the morning, offering at night and offering in the evening. When you find a ministry whose major emphasis is bring, bring, give, give, its the Levitical priesthood. They are still in the wilderness. But we have moved out of the wilderness. The priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ Christ, according to Hebrew 6, 7 up to 8, is after the order of Melchizedek who was already a king before he met Abraham. He did not need the offering of Abraham to be king. So those who are practising Melchizedek priesthood do not depend on their congregation. They don’t wait because they are lazy for them to go and work and bring resources to them. They also labour with their own hands to have resources and when the church contributes, they probably contribute more. You can find out these things. So it depends on which priesthood is being practised.

Tithes are to be used to take care of widows, the helpless, and services in the house of God. Why should they come to you to say we want to pay NEPA bills, we want to pay church staff? People that are working in the ministry have to be paid and the organisation has to be run. But it’s never compulsory. If anybody tells you if you don’t pay tithe you will remain tight, greed in his heart is influencing that because Christ has become the cross for us. For it is written: ‘Cursed is anyone that hangs on the tree that the blessing of Abraham now come upon the Gentile’ If it is from your heart, like it was with Abraham, it will bring blessings. But if it is teleguided, it is no longer spirit-led and does not activate anything in heaven. I think what is causing it is that we embark on projects God did not give to us and put ourselves under financial pressure, which we transmit to people. Do I pay tithe? Definitely. But I don’t make it a law for everybody. I do from my earnings because I don’t depend on church offerings. My hands, like Paul’s, provided for my necessities. I pay my tax like any other citizen of this country. I pay from my legitimate earnings. If I have to wait for them to give on Sundays before I send my children to school and eat, then something is wrong. If this church folds up, I cannot live anymore. And in a depressed economy, so many churches have opened up that are not at the instance of the Holy Spirit.

do u think it should be voluntary ?

^
Just something from your signature that interests me, it says 'Poverty is not a sin, it is something worse'. Do you believe poverty is worse than sin? Is there even something worse than sin?

It is and should be VOLUNTARY no matter what the "business-churches" preach as well as the percentage 10, 15, 20, 50%, etc

@Image123, Poverty brings about more sinful act bro,
@Ogajim, I completely agree with the Pastor here, Abraham Paid the first Tithe willingly, so should it be by every human, not a Pastor threatening that if you don't pay u are in soup,

So what do we say of Jesus and Paul that the bible records to have expeRienced poverty, did it lead to 'more sin'?So what do we say of Jesus and Paul that the bible records to have expeRienced poverty, did it lead to 'more sin'?

@Image123, Do you know the meaning of poverty at all, Poverty doesnt just mean lack of ability to get daily food. Poverty is divided into 2, The one you are thinking of and that of the mind, The worst type of Poverty is that of the mind, AND When it comes to the state of mind Jesus and Paul are Some of the Richest in Human History, Think Deeply.

,

Image123:

So what do we say of Jesus and Paul that the bible records to have expeRienced poverty, did it lead to 'more sin'?So what do we say of Jesus and Paul that the bible records to have expeRienced poverty, did it lead to 'more sin'?

The CEC bunch/Nigerian "MOG" worshiping crew don't have a full understanding or poverty nor of wealth hence Bible-twisting oles get them all the time. Greed at the lowest and highest levels-no nation can truly survive on those.

tithe is not a voluntarily thing, its a must, malachi 3.10

offering and other seeds may be voluntary

Though the response below is for a separate posting but it has some stuff you can learn from with regards to tithing and true Christainity/LOVE, enjoy:

Hello friends,
Before i put in my contributions, let me start by saying i am a born again Christian and always proud to say it. I will not say to anyone to pay his/her tithes or not but will imploy you to let's rightly divide the word of truth has Bro Paul challenged Timothy. I feel really ashamed of what my faith (Christian Faith) has turned into- which is no more of a humble calling, a call to serve mankind. A call to guide and shepherd souls, a call to be a servant just like what Jesus told his disciples - James and John (see Mark 10:35-45 and Luke 22:24-27). I implore all to please read those scriptures and others within this posting because i think its important to this discussion.

I feel bad because even my Church is not left out and each day i look to see if there will be one that will at least emmulate the real calling of our lord Jesus Christ but sad enough its almost the same. As a matter of fact, i found that even people that never believe in God for a second exhibits such a great amount of LOVE than we that call Jesus every seconds. It's really sad!!! If you do not believe my last statement, here you go:
"On December 9, 2010, Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and investor Warren Buffett signed a promise they called the "Giving Pledge", in which they promised to donate to charity at least half of their wealth over the course of time, and invited others among the wealthy to donate 50% or more of their wealth to charity."
That is an excerpt which you can confirm online. The bitter part of it is these 3 folks (not too sure of Warren Buffet) never believe in God's existence. I then wonder, there we have Pastors amassing wealth greedily in the name of God yet the people we call ungodly give with a BIG HEART of GOD. Or how can you explain Warren Buffet in addition to that saying he is giving 99% of his wealth to Charity over the course of his life - this is something he worked for all his life and not even tithes and offerings of some followers.

During the course of some research, i stumbled on a great man of God that lived in the 17th/18th Century called John Wesley and i wished he lived in my time. Anyway, His life style as a Pastor/Preacher really impressed me and i have decided to make him my mentor. The sad thing is i doubt if the legacy he left behind is being carried on by His Church today (The Methodist Church). Please read something about his life style on this link and let us as God give us the grace emmulate it. (http://saintluther..com/2007/05/about-money-john-wesley.html)

I do not really want to belabour you with a lot for there is still more for us to discover here. I am imploring you all, do not rush through. Please spend some time and read through this link and if possible have your bible besides you to make references where possible. At the end of it all, pray about it and make your judgement wether you should TITHE or NOT. Or even wether you should decide to give your TITHES to the POOR remmebering they are infact JESUS in His disguise or haven't you read the book of Mathew 25:35-46.
Here is a link that dealt well with the issue of tithing: http://www.letusreason.org/wf34.htm

I leave you with this, let us all spend time to reading our Bible. Let not leave our Christianity in the hand of the Leaders alone. Commit yourself to study and as you do so, the Holy Spirit Himself will help us understand what God's want us to do. Personally, i believe a lot of Church leaders have left Jesus' vision. Let's start looking onto Jesus and not only the leaders. Even where they were Chosen by God, they are still very much subject to falling. There are several examples in the Bible for us.

Shalom!