^^^ Then, argue with Jesus Christ who said you should give to the poor.

Enigma:

^^^ Then, argue with Jesus Christ who said you should give to the poor.

You didn't get the point: Some people excuse for not paying tithe is that they are not sure that the money will be use judiciously, hence they will rather give to the poor. So my question to them is that after you give to the POOR, did you try to investigate what he did with your money?

Geez,in dis modern age and in an impoverished country as nigeria,where so many are in nid,s/bdy stil gves out 10% of his/her income in d name of tithe.For every single income earner in today's nigeria there are @least 3dependants in one form or d other,yet u use d mony u wud av used to gv hpe and sustenance to s/body and thus reap God's blessing to gv to one man who wants to ride d fanciest cars and compete wt d rich for acquisitions all in name of tithe?
I always site this paradox:why is it that in nigeria where d church's population in increasing bc people are lukin 4miracles,we are stil so impoverished, corrupt and grossly underdeveloped,while in d west where d population of church is low,they are 100x better off in all aspects of life,evn including d spiritual if u ask me;& China whc is an atheist nation wt an enormous population,will also soon catch up wt d developed world,having left us several yrs ago?
Yes,we shd practice our faith and gv to d church our widow's mite to hep it in its endeavors and pay its own workers,but 10-20% of your salary,giv me a break

Guys, if the question is without any hidden facts, if its to know who TITHE (1/10) should be paid to :-
then Tithe [b]are not [/b]to be paid to the man of God but rather bible gave example of how Tithe should be dropped in church by the payer, in the old testament Joash or Josiah ( very young king)was 1st to make wooden chest as directed by God so that Israelites can drop in it the money the brought to the house of God.
hence you see churches doing same- a good example of a church that does that is a church called APOSTOLIC FAITH CHURCH (with slogan Africa for Christ)[color=Black][/color]-you would not see them carrying contribution plate
The advantage of this system initiated by God:-
Removes self glory,recognition and respect, or partiality  that anyone could easily get from a man of God where tithe is paid to them.
but if the question is directed toward the application of your Tithe paid.
I would say there is alot to debate on this because we have seen the commercial tendency and nature of some so call man of God at display.-God have mercy.
but one thing i must say is Tithe is compulsory and must be brought to the house of God--Malachi 3: 8-12

^^ Also bear in mind the following:

1. On at least one occasion, the Bible said that the tither should spend the tithe himself and for whatever his heart desires.

2. On at least two occasions, the Bible said that the tither should share the tithes with widows, orphans etc.

Engima:-
Tithe and offerings are different.
You do not and cannot dictate the use of Tithe, its strictly for God and must be brought to the house of God and its Tenth(1/10)--Malachi 3: 8-12
Offering :- Is not specific could be anything you can give out to help your neighbour, money, cloth,food etc as God directs or lay it on your heart.
So you cannot mix Tithe and offering together or say they are one and same thing .NO please.

NOOOO

GOD, GOD GOD Himself "dictated" commanded:

(a) that the tither should spend the tithe on whatever his soul desired; and

(b) that the tither should share the tithe with widows, orphans etc

THE ancient practice of tithing or giving a tenth for religious purposes has continued to the present day. Parishes of the Church of England are maintained by a “tithe rent charge.” Tithes support the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec, Canada. The members of various other denominations believe that they are Scripturally obligated to contribute a tenth of their income to their church. Does God really require this? What does the Bible say?
The first recorded instances of tithing in the Holy Scriptures were voluntary, unsolicited acts. Abraham, the forefather of the Israelites, gave King-Priest Melchizedek one tenth of the spoils of his victory over Chedorlaomer and his allies. (Gen. 14:18-20) Later, Abraham’s grandson Jacob made a vow to God, saying: “If God will continue with me and will certainly keep me on this way on which I am going and will certainly give me bread to eat and garments to wear and I shall certainly return in peace to the house of my father, then Jehovah will have proved to be my God. And this stone that I have set up as a pillar will become a house of God, and as for everything that you will give me I shall without fail give the tenth of it to you.”—Gen. 28:20-22.
Clearly, Abraham had not imposed the payment of tenths on his family as a regular duty. It would have been superfluous for Jacob to vow to pay a tenth had he already been under obligation to do so. Moreover, Jacob’s vow about giving a tenth of everything in no way implied that his descendants would have to do the same. That vow was a solemn promise by which Jacob alone bound himself.
Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites, however, did eventually receive a law from God requiring the payment of tithes. What was the purpose of this law? Is it binding on Christians today?
The prime reason for tithes in Israel was to support the priesthood and the services at the sanctuary, because neither the priests nor other members of the tribe of Levi were given a land inheritance of their own. Their main work was to look after the spiritual interests of fellow Israelites. The tithes, therefore, served as a divinely arranged means of support, a payment for services rendered in behalf of the nation. God’s law stated: “The Levites themselves must carry on the service of the tent of meeting, and they are the ones who should answer for their error. It is a statute to time indefinite during your generations that in the midst of the sons of Israel they should not get possession of an inheritance. For the tenth part of the sons of Israel, which they will contribute to Jehovah as a contribution, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance.” (Num. 18:23, 24) The nonpriestly Levites, in turn, gave a tenth of what they had received to the Aaronic priesthood for its support.—Num. 18:25-29.
The Christian congregation forming the “Israel of God,” or a nation of spiritual Israelites, differs from natural Israel. (Gal. 6:16) It has no special priestly class nor a body of sanctuary workers who cannot own land or are otherwise prevented from using their hands to the full in caring for their material needs. All the members of spiritual Israel are a “holy priesthood.” (1 Pet. 2:5) Thus there is no need for the kind of material support Jehovah God outlined for natural Israel.
Furthermore, the activities carried on at the sanctuary by Israel’s priests and the Levites pointed to realities fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Respecting the provisions of God’s law to Israel, the Bible tells us: “Those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.” (Col. 2:17) “Since the Law has a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very substance of the things, men can never with the same sacrifices from year to year which they offer continually make those who approach perfect.” (Heb. 10:1) When the reality came into being, the functions pointing to it ceased to have any value. And tithes for supporting these functions were no longer required.
The Law covenant, with its commands about tithing, was abolished on the basis of Jesus’ death on the torture stake. Of this, the inspired apostle Paul wrote: “[God] blotted out the handwritten document . . . and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.” (Col. 2:14) Hence, the command on tithing given to the Israelites cannot be used to prove that God requires this of Christians.
An examination of the Christian Greek Scriptures gives no indication that members of the first-century church had to pay tithes. True, they made contributions for relief measures in behalf of needy fellow believers. They also gave assistance to elders who worked hard in speaking and teaching. At no time, though, do we read of a specific amount of income being set aside for such contributions.—Acts 11:29; Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:1-3; Phil. 4:15, 16.
In the Christian Greek Scriptures the emphasis is on voluntary giving that stems from the heart. We read: “If the readiness is there first, it is especially acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what a person does not have.” (2 Cor. 8:12) “Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7) Manifestly, if tithing had been enjoined upon Christians, the amount would already have been determined for them by a specific command.
Regarding material assistance to elders, Christians were instructed: “Let the older men who preside in a fine way be reckoned worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. For the Scripture says: ‘You must not muzzle a bull when it threshes out the grain’; also: ‘The workman is worthy of his wages.’” (1 Tim. 5:17, 18) Again there is no mention of any tithe to be used in assisting elders materially. Then, too, we should not conclude from this text that any of the elders received a fixed salary. What they received were voluntary gifts from those who appreciated that the time these elders spent in behalf of the congregation could have been used by them in working for money. The apostle Paul and other faithful elders, however, did not seek after such material assistance. They worked with their hands to care for their physical needs.—1 Thess. 2:9.
Thus there is no Biblical proof that early Christians considered tithing to be a divine requirement. It was such only during the time the Law covenant was in force. With the abolition of the Law, the command about tithing was also canceled. And no command to tithe was given to the Christian congregation. Contributions for furthering the interests of true worship were strictly voluntary. Jehovah’s Christian witnesses today follow the example of the first-century congregation in this regard.

It appears to me that many professing Christians worship an UNKNOWN GOD. If you are a disciple of Jesus you are not under the law of tithing. Give unto the church as is in your power, give unto the poor, needy widows orphans etc as is in your power. Give out of love not out of greed. Give not because you want a reward ( greed) give as you have the power to give whether is it 10%, 100%, 50% etc. That is the teaching of the new testament ( covenant). However if you are into some Judaism-Christianity you can continue to obey the laws including the law of tithing. But I hope you would soon know what Jesus did for you at Calvary.

Baawaa:

This was one of my testimonies, Precisely,2004 when i was seeking for job,i attended my church deliverance program and in that program they asked us to make vow.[b]My own vow was"GOD i want to be paying Tithe"believing me that very week i got a job,[/b]Since then i have been paying tithe.In addition,in march 2005,i increased my tithe just to round-up the figure.To my surprise the following month my salary was increased!!

The bible says seek ye the kingdom of God and every other thing shall be added on to you!!!
Can you pay your way to heaven?? i'm asking cos of the bolded part since anytime you pay more money in the church you recieve blessing whether you fornicated/committed adultery/committed murder(fix ur choice) .

Ur tithe belongs to the man of God.When its written in Malachai 3vs 10"Bring ye thy tithes in my storehouse dat they may be meat in my house",it signifies that the peace and sin offerings belonged to da priests.Abraham paid his tithe to Melchizedek.Bringing it to church and paying it to da man of God is da same.Afterall,it belongs to da man of God.

The saying dat tithe aint longer valid is a heresy.Someone even said that tithing is a law.Which bible?. Who is man to put God to test? Yet he asked u to put him to test through thy tithe.Why cant u stop arguing and pay ur tithe.Just 1 tenth.God didn't ask for much.Ive got no time to share my testimonies,but believe me,tith works wonders.Every criminal goes to hell and God calls any1 dat doesnt pay his tithe a criminal.If u say dat tithe aint valid,then its ur visa to damnation.If u don't pay ur tithe, Hmm,I deh laugh

^^^ Will you obey God Himself and give/share your tithes to/with widows, orphans etc like God commanded?

A-ZeD:

The bible says seek ye the kingdom of God and every other thing shall be added on to you!!!
Can you pay your way to heaven?? i'm asking cos of the bolded part since anytime you pay more money in the church you recieve blessing whether you fornicated/committed adultery/committed murder(fix your choice) .

Hia! Where cometh this one? who told u dat tithe is all about paying more money? Its just one tenth! Proving wiser than God is deadly.He asked u to pay it and u're telling him dat u dont need to pay more money.I was previously of the notion da tithe aint valid.But 1 day,I decided to give it a try.Since dat day,things turned around for my own gud.Stop debating and give it a try.Pls

Enigma:

^^^ Will you obey God Himself and give/share your tithes to/with widows, orphans etc like God commanded?

Which God commanded that one?

The God Almighty of the Bible; the very I am that I am.

Enigma:

The God Almighty of the Bible; the very I am that I am.

Where is dat in the bible?

Benstino:

Stop debating and give it a try.Pls

A good number of people have tried, but no positive/favorable result

@ Benstino

Bear with me for just one more post. I will post the passages in my very next post on this thread.

However, first, I would like your honest answer to this question: if I do come up with a passage or two where God says we should give/share tithes to/with widows orphans etc, how would this affect your current understanding?

For those of u insinuating dat tithe is imposed on people,I definetly dont know which church u goes.In mine,it aint a must.Tith is bw u and God.Pay it and it goes well with u.Refuse to pay,and u turn urself into a criminal.Just make thy choice

This is an interesting topic. However, i never paid my thite for many years since i started working as a young man. But one day i decided i would start to pay my thite from that month onwards.
So, that particular morning i submited my thite for the ministry use (my first time). But to my surprise, after walking 10 - 15mins from my church i was surrounded by bad boys and had my phone taken away from me. Till this day, i have been afraid of paying tithe again.


Recently, a co-worker had an almost similar story to mine and her phone was stolen the same day she paid her tithe. I'm still searching for the possible cause of this phenomenon.

@Enigma,If u show dat to me,then my pastor will simply 4get about my tithe cos it'll start going directly to orphans and widows ad infinitum

dublinkmy6:

This is an interesting topic. However, i never paid my thite for many years since i started working as a young man. But one day i decided i would start to pay my thite from that month onwards.
So, that particular morning i submited my thite for the ministry use (my first time). But to my surprise, after walking 10 - 15mins from my church i was surrounded by bad boys and had my phone taken away from me. Till this day, i have been afraid of paying tithe again.


Recently, a co-worker had an almost similar story to mine and her phone was stolen the same day she paid her tithe. I'm still searching for the possible cause of this phenomenon.

possible cause of this phenomenon? Its so simple.Satan have seen the doubt in ur mind and wants to utilize it for his own gain.Ive been paying mine and saying to God "U asked me to put u to test and dat Im doing right now.Give me admission dis yr."And my admission has been given unto me.Dont let the devil inside.

OK Benstino


1. Deuteronomy 26:12

KJV

When you have finished tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled

NIV

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

2. Deuteronomy 14:28-29

KJV

At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates:

29[b]And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied[/b]; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

NLT

At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in the nearest town. 29[b]Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns[/b], so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work.

3. Matthew 25

34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

EDIT Sorry, I have modified no 3 as I wanted the positive (not the negative) arm of the passage.

Omo,

I dont see a way i can pay such a thig called Tithe, to an organization or a man, who is lazy, trying to brainwash me

I am not a Mugu

As a few good and honest people have already mentioned on this threat, you can't pay your way to heaven.

The bible is clear about what you do with tithe. Please read Deuteronomy 14:22-29.

Let me summarize it for you: Tithe is for YOU.

Not for you to give to another to do as he/she pleases.

Jesus has already paid the price for you. Let no one threaten you that if you don't pay, x y z will happen to you.

Let's be practical: What about the poor that can't pay or those living far below the poverty line? is it that they are doomed for life?
Is there going to be a gate man in Heaven checking a list to see if you paid your tithe?
Is the gate man going to say "Catholics, this way, Protestants, that way, Anglicans, over there, Hindu, that way?  

Ask your parents if the craze for for their hard earned money was like this when they were your age.

Is it that our present day "pastors" suddenly received divine revelation to milk their congregation dry while they grow fat?

My friend, if you're really moved by the Spirit to help, go to orphanage and see the plight of children; go to ERs/hospitals and comfort the abandoned. Provide lunch and dinner for them. I assure you that the "Thanks" they offer is a prayer that will bless you beyond your wildest imaginations.

Our God is watching. He sees our hearts and knows our desires.

Remember, Jesus has already paid for your trip to heaven. It's now left to you to score points for yourself for use in the afterlife.  

Peace

@ Benstino

Meanwhile I had forgotten the one that says you can "chopulate" the tithe yourself.

Deuteronomy 14

22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.

23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Thanks Enigma.But this is clearly a mosaic law.Read it 4rm the beginning.They were instructed to sell their earnings if it be to much to carry.Then,they shall use the money to buy edible stuffs and share it with Levites,strangers,widows and orphans.The passage never told us to pay our tithes to them.It was how tithe was shared during the mosaic law.Malachai 3 instructed that u bring it into Gods storehouse(the church) that they may be meat in his house (Refering to the man of God physically in charge of the house of God). U can visit orphans and widows with gifts,but that aint tithing.James 1 vs 27 supports u to care 4 orphans and widows.

^^^ On what basis are you paying tithes into church ---- Abram/Melchizedek?

If so, is paying it into church obligatory?

Does the Abram example not allow you to "tithe" by giving it to the poor --- especially considering Jesus said that when you give to the poor you give to Him?

Benstino:

For those of u insinuating dat tithe is imposed on people,I definetly dont know which church u goes.In mine,it aint a must.Tith is bw u and God.Pay it and it goes well with u.Refuse to pay,and u turn urself into a criminal.Just make thy choice

Also, on what basis did you make these claims?

Is it not on the basis of the same Mosaic law.

Afterall, neither Jesus nor any of the apostles taught or suggested that Christians should tithe! Abi no be so?

Pls 4 those insinuating that u cant pay ur way to heaven.Paying tith doesnt lead u to heaven.Malachai 3 vs 11 stated that it is for prosperity,safety and all round blessings.Dont pay it cos a man of God(some of the who are purely lazy is forcing u to do so).Pay it cos God wants u to do it .

You see the problem now?

Just as I pointed out in my last post above your last ----- is the Malachi not from Mosaic law?