₦airaland Forum

WinsomeX:
I think I get what you mean now: you are saying if anti tithers do not see giving as a requirement and thus are at liberty to give or not; we should also maintain the same stance for tithing which we also see as not a requirement. We shouldn't insist people should not tithe. To do so is to maintain double standard.

I agree with you. If this is the attitude, then it is double standard indeed.

I do not tithe. I also accept the label anti tither, not bc it depicts who I truly am but bc it's the cliche here for all non tithers. The second thing is that I am at this point not speaking for all non tithers.

My position really on all matters of church life is LIBERTY. Do as God compels you. The only thing I believe I must insist on is preaching sound doctrine and calling sinners to repentance. Even the matter of holiness I leave to each man to do as God leads them.

Concerning giving then, I insist on liberty. Thus concerning tithing, the same thing: liberty. I however have issues with those who make tithing compulsory or who insist on it in a subtle manner like Bidam is doing.

That's my position.

brocab:
Read the word" the truth will set you free. The lord don't command us to bring any tithes, its a lie.

zikclassiq:
You dont give your tithes to man of God, church or whoever. IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, God commands us to bring a 10th of our first fruits to HIS house that their may be meat! Its not my bizness to know whats been done wit it. Do your part and leave d rest and God will BLESS U for obeying his Commandment.

psp2pc:
I have no problem paying offering or tithe, but telling me to pay before God can bless me is what i find scammy.

chmod777:
pls mind your own calling to fullfill it.tithe and first fruit predate the law. Study your bible and quit being a judge over God's elect. Remebrr miriam .

bjims:
I guess their salaries depends on the position of the pastors. Most church pastors don't earn that well and mostly live off the gifts from church members. Most church branches remit all their offerings to headquarters who in turn give out so little. A pastor once complained about this and that this reason was why apart from normal offerings and tithes they take up other special offerings which is to augment their work. The lack of accountability and transparency in our church is alarming. Here in the UK it is different as the church is more accountable

emmyskies:
@ Crazyman :

I intensionally didn't quote the scriptures because I am discouraged how many who pose as christians don't know these things. I just tire. I tire no be small. It's discouraging.

Well, without writing much, you that interrupt don't know much about the scriptures still. Forgive me for saying that. You don't even know when tithing was introduced. Hmmm,,,when even Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, Paul even talked on this when comparing the priesthood of Melchizedek and the Levites, even Jacob made a tithing vow unto the LORD if He return safely to his father's house when he was fleeing before Esau. Hmmm, what more can I say?

Tithing was never abolished in the new testament. It was not talked about much because it is a sure thing everyone know to be done. As hypocrites justify themselves with good works of paying tithe. No be now wey... make I close mouth. Make I no talk. If ye have the spirit, He will give you understanding.

Wow!!! Like seriously?? So the law was abolished eh?? Kai,, this one now no be twisting, na direct opposite of the word of JESUS CHRIST himself which don't even need divine understanding to understand. This one wey even dey clear self wey even outsiders go understand. Wow!
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. " (Matthew 5:17-18)
Whether you believe o, whether you no believe o, till heaven and earth pass away, verilly verily, one jot, shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Yes o

Tithing was never a law? Have ye read the Book of law? Or na just the ten commandments you're talking about?

Because they robbed GOD by not paying tithe. GOD himself said it:
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation." (Malachi 3:8-9)
Let them that have ear, let them hear.

And crazyman, pls don't quote me again. GOD bless you

Image123: Do people get dumber as soon as they stop tithing or what? It seems the devourer tweaks a little something in them individual's brains. Some ridiculous fellow is crying foul at being sacked from a place he hopes to destroy. Does he really think TDJ would be insane enough to keep him as a staff? Does he really expect a good review of his book when his book is antagonistic to the church's teaching? Pretty deluded fellow imo.
Also, it is right for people to feel bad for not doing right (whatever right is). Humans are created with conscience, fellows should stop pathetic attempts at crude psychology. True freedom is in knowing Jesus, not in starting or stopping tithes.

FreshGreen: SHOULD CHRISTIANS GIVE FIRSTFRUITS OFFERING?
Firstfruits was one of the offerings in the Old Testament, is it still applicable in the New Testament? Let's see some facts and truth about FIRSTFRUITS from the Bible.

Firstfruits was not just an offering like tithes and offerings, but it was an offering for sacrifice.
Leviticus 2:12. "As for the offering of the firstfruits, you shall offer them to the Lord, but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma."
Leviticus 23:20, "The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest."

In the New Testament, the word "firstfruits" was mentioned about 8 times, and none was refereed to for offering, because in the New Testament, Jesus Christ became our Firstfruits sacrifice of offering unto God, and the offering of firstfruits is no longer necessary and biblical.
1 Corinthians 15:20, "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
1 Corinthians 15:23, "But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming."

In the New Testament, firstfruits is no longer monetary offering but Christ became our Firstfruits, and then every person who first gives his life to Jesus in a family is the firstfruits of that family; people who first give their lives to Jesus in a particular community or country are the firstfruits of that location, and every first church in a particular community or country is the firstfruits of that place.
Romans 16:5, "Likewise greet the church that is in their house.Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ."
James 1:18, "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

MONETIZATION OF MODERN CHURCH
Quoting firstfruits from the scripture as a means of collecting money in the church is another means of church monetization of the modern church. Some of those churches who collect offering of firstfruits do that, and put the whole money in the pocket of a single person - the Senior Pastor; now, how will such pastors not become millionaire overnight? Such practice is not only unbiblical but in a wrong means, even the Old Testament firstfruits offerings were not given to the High Priest or a single person.

The churches who practice firstfruits offering are the churches that have been perverted by modern mammon spirit. Some even go to the extend of telling their church members to redeem their first children with money. If you are redeeming your first child with money in your church, it means the blood of Jesus is not enough to redeem your child. Christians are not redeemed by money or offerings, we are redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:18, 19, "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

If any pastor or church asks you to redeem your child with an offering, tell them that the offering by the Blood of Jesus Christ is more than enough for the redemption of your children and yourself.

One of the popular pastors in Nigeria whose church practices collection of firsfruits offerings usually visit the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja, every year; and in the churches, the ministers would announce, "if you want to meet our Daddy G.O at the National Cathedral, you will need to buy invitation card of N15, 000 (About $100), so you can have access to him." Every year, this church usually sell invitation cards to their members to have access to their senior Pastor, maybe thousands of people do buy the card. The question is that, if you do not pay money to see Jesus, do you have to pay money before you can see the servant of Jesus? This is another monetization in the church.

One of the terrible things about modern church is the possessed spirit of mammon, everything is monetized. Calling certain amount of money for special prayer, selling anointing oil for special blessings, collecting firstfruits offerings and paying money to see a man of God are few of the monetization of the free gifts of God in the church. You will not hear such things from the founding fathers of faith, even in Nigeria. The founding fathers of faith in Nigeria who founded some of the churches did not practice such system of money collections, and if our founding fathers were godly and contented, if they did not collect firstfruits offerings or special invitation offerings, if they did not sell anointing oil or organize special clubs to raise fund, are we wiser than them? Are we wiser than the great men of God whom God used to start our churches?

Wisdom demands that we should all repent from our love of money, and be delivered from the demon of mammon. From whom scripture is given, sincerity is expected. When you know the Truth, He will set you free if you allow Him.

1 Timothy 6:3-5
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

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PastorKun: Did they force you to give

Unibenstudent: What are the pastors using this money for, let them bring back our offerings and tithes,i dont see where Jesus collected tithes

GreenBobo: I like your simplicity... permit me to go straight to the point...

Ground Zero
Becoming a Christian begins with a prayer. You have to repair your relationship With God. Please say this prayer, sincerely!

"Dear God,
I know that I have not lived as you want me to. I have not loved you as I ought nor loved the people who live around me. I am sorry and want to change.Thank you for Jesus.Thank you that he lived and died for me and rose again and is now the Lord. Please forgive me and help me to live as you want me to. Amen. "


Ground One
✔ Read your Bible daily,
✔Pray at least twice a day,
✔Need to identify with a church,
✔Serving at church (Usher, Engineer, Sunday school ) , in a nutshell, U need to get involved! Just volunteer to serv in any area you can in church!
✔Be of service to others
✔Tithing..

These are all great activities for Christians,but they are not what the Christian life is all about.
"A Christian is someone who has been made new in Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ) and restored to relationship with God. The Christian life is about getting to know God,enjoying Him and bringing Him glory (Isaiah 43:7 ; 2 Corinthians 3:18 ; John 17:1–5 , 22). "

Ground Two
✔Conquer Your Doubts.
At times you may doubt that you really are a Christian. Perhaps you have failed or surrendered repeatedly to temptation.Remember, you were not saved because of how good of a person you are, but by putting your trust in what Christ has already done for you.
✔ Live One Day at a Time.
Too often we become anxious about what might happen tomorrow. The Bible promises that God will meet our needs, if only we will seek first His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33-34). God’s grace will be sufficient to meet the challenges that each new day brings.
✔ Learn How to Deal with Temptation.
Temptation is a part of life. It was an issue before you became a Christian, it still will be. Be prepared to take advantage of God’s “way out” of temptation, whether it means that you “flee” the scene of temptation (I Timothy 6:11), or that you stay on the scene and “resist” it (James 4:7; I Peter 5:8-9).

Ground Three
Tell Others About Jesus.
Sharing with others about your new life in Jesus--by word or by action--will certainly help build your confidence, the Bible encourages us to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (I Peter 3:15).
CONGRATULATIONS, YOU MADE IT! SHALOM!!!

Ukutsgp: my friend tithe is not a must. d emphasis should be on giving to God and fellow man. pls allow pastors to be. or is it wrong to have a house, cars etc? dnt u know that there are people willing to give their pastors anything to make them comfortable? do u even know how many students we support in our church including widows and orphans? pls dnt say what u dnt know till u are sure.

Spuggie: The catholic church will continue to grow because people are becoming aware of the tithing and special offering scam in pentecostal churches. Pastors are faking miracles, getting richer at the expense of their clients.....selling false hopes to the sick, poor, desperate and gullible while exploiting them at the same time. The rich are not sparred, they are ripped off. People are able to see through the smokescreen.

sidespin: YOU HAVE ALL OF GOD’S RESOURCES WITHIN YOU

One Sunday as I was preaching in the 2nd worship service, I saw a man brought in with his hands & feet bound. I knew this man was mentally sick. That particular day we were making pledges for the 5th stage of our building program. Many people were receiving pledge cards & filling them out & I noticed when a pledge card was handed to this man, he received it & with his bound hand, he wrote in one hundred dollars.

His wife laughed when the deacon came again to receive his card. “Don’t believe him” she said. “He’s not mentally responsible”. But after the service I met him & found that amazingly he had been completely healed by the power of the Holy Spirit that morning in the service! He was in his right mind & he talked with me. He told me he had been suffering deeply from an inferiority complex. “I had owned a fertilizer company” he began, “but I failed & went heavily into debt. I worried so much that my mind snapped. My family took me to an institution & there they gave me all kinds of shock treatments. But none of them helped me”

“But as I was sitting here listening to your preaching this morning, I suddenly came out of my deep depression sickness & recognized reality. I’ve lost my friends, my prestige, & my credit. I have a mountain of debts. I can do nothing. I am nothing, but I’m so grateful that I experienced God’s healing today!”

“You are something,” I told him. “You are not inferior. Since you came to Jesus now all the power of Christ & His resources are dwelling within you, just waiting to be tapped” I told him again. “What kind of job am I going to have?” he questioned me. “ I don’t know” I replied, ‘but keep on reading the Bible & pray, & you’ll know.”

One day he returned filled with excitement. “Pastor, I read the verse of scripture that says we are the salt of the earth. How about my going into the retail of salt business?” “if you believe in it,” I said, “go right ahead. Do it!” So he went out & began to sell salt on a small scale. He paid his tithes, paid his pledge & continued to rejoice in the Lord. God began to bless him & his salt business grew & grew. Eventually he built a large storehouse right beside the river where he placed $50,000 worth of salt.

It was in the summer, & one night it rained heavily into the early hours of morning. In the morning when he got up all of the area had been completely flooded. His storehouse was also flooded & I was concerned. That afternoon when the rained stopped, I rushed out to his store. Other articles & materials can still be found after a flood but salt has a great friendship with water. When I entered his warehouse, there was no salt left. But the man was sitting in the middle of his warehouse, singing & praising God. As I walked in, I tried to discern whether he was in his right mind or not. I went up to him & asked, “Are you okay?”

“Pastor, I’m alright,” he smiled. “I’m not crazy. Don’t worry. I’ve lost everything, but as you always told me, I HAVE ALL GOD’S RESOURCES WITHIN ME. Water may have taken away my salt, but it could not take away the total resources or the presence of God dwelling within me. I can tap those resources again & again by prayer & faith. You just wait. Give me time & I’ll rebuild my business again.” It was evident he was not suffering from an inferiority complex any longer! He was full of confidence. The Holy Spirit had truly done a tremendous work in work in his life!

Today this man is an elder in my church. He is a multi-millionaire businessman in the salt business. He also started a watch company. He has accompanied me to Los Angeles, Vancouver & New York as well as Europe.

This man is a glowing testimony & example of how people can be helped to release their feelings of inferiority through preaching the Word of God & stressing that they have all of God’s resources at their disposal to tap their needs. (David Yonggi Cho)

Whisper this prayer with me, ‘Lord Jesus, I love You. I announce with my mouth that You are Lord of my life. I believe in my spirit that You came in the flesh, died, buried & rose on the 3rd day all because of me. I accept this fact. Thanks for saving me. I believe I’m born again. Holy Spirit, now I receive You by faith into my spirit, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Amen!

EMMEAUX EVANGELICAL
Knowing the Lord Jesus for yourself is my concern.
For FREE messages / materials / Q&A contact me on:
emmeaux3@yahoo.com 08033853236
Facebook (Jesus Wordz, emmeaux3@yahoo.com)

Ukutsgp: nobody was compelled to give his or her 10%. they willingly gave it. it is not everyone that pay tithe. do u forbid good things? should pastors be suffering before? and how do u know dat churches dnt help their members? in short, our church just visit the orphanage last week. stop spreading lies. by the way, are there not poor members in rcc?

Ukutsgp: nobody was compelled to give his or her 10%. they willingly gave it. it is not everyone that pay tithe. do u forbid good things? should pastors be suffering before? and how do u know dat churches dnt help their members? in short, our church just visit the orphanage last week. stop spreading lies. by the way, are there not poor members in rcc?

Ukutsgp: so d catholic leading people astray and out of the will of God is better. isn't it? leading people to hell since 1900

ifeness: Giving to which of the gods? Besides i think an advanced being will give the money to the poor. About your talent, yes that should be better used to better humanity and the society.

ifeness: Giving to which of the gods? Besides i think an advanced being will give the money to the poor. About your talent, yes that should be better used to better humanity and the society.

oyebod200: When it comes to giving God what you have (i.e. your talents, your tithes and offerings) God will bless you in your faithfulness and answering his calling on your life. Like, if you are called of God to help the homeless (just an example) or even if you have artistic talents, you can use that for God and he will bless you in return. Yes, even artists can work in the kingdom of God by helping with children’s programs, backgrounds, designs, power points, etc. It doesn't matter. Give your talents to God and use them for His glory and he will open up doors for you and provide for you, even in your darkest hour. For tithing, it is your responsibility to give one tenth of the money you make to your church. Don't think of it as paying for a church. This is a biblical principle talked about in Malachi 3:10 and really, a tenth of everything you owe and give is God's. So really, you are giving it to God. No, God doesn't use the money. But the church of God does to meet the needs of bills, payments, and furthering the kingdom of God. Offering is something besides your 10% you give to God, which is a stretching of your faith by sacrificing and giving more unto the Lord. It is not required, but very much upheld. There is another biblical principle stated in Luke 6:38 (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.) Also, in Matthew 6:33, it says that you should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Then, all these thing shall be added unto you. That is why it is important to give to God.

tribeofdavid: Genesis 28:20, 22 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Genesis 14:19-20 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

excuse me? wasnt this before the Law?

GoodBoi1: No

Onyiibazz: When christians want to justify indecent dressing, they say we're no more in the era of the law i.e old testament but when they want to justify tithing, they will still go back to that old testament! Christianity is a fake religion!

akagaba: Hahahahahahahah!!! D anti-christ Embassy people are so dumbfounded and fo0lish to think that ths mere divorce saga can split, move, discourage or scatter Christ Embassy Congregation! Didnt "Daily Sun newspaper" give a report on how they went to d CE church in Oregun on weds, only to be shocked to see that d church was full to d brim? Do u jobless Maggots think that we came ths far to be torn apart by mere divorce saga whch is just a mirage frm d devil and his cohorts? Are u senseless messengers of Lucifer not aware that we, Christ Embassy members, are set on a course that we must follow and we dont give up or get discouraged? Are u guys so blind to see that since attacks started coming on ths church centuries ago, that it has rather moved d church forward and cause increase in d churches all over d world? Are u guys not aware that CE is now in every part of d world with d least congregation as 5000? Are u guys not aware dat rhapsody is d most prominent and widely spread devotional in d world? Are u guys not aware that Christ Emb calabar is organising d biggest crusade in d city of Indonesia? Are u guys not d ones who condemn and criticize our seed sowing and tithing? But are u not ashamed that despite ur condemnation and criticismn, yet members of d church are sowing even greater and also becoming prosperous in a way that marvels d same jobless u. My prayer for all of u who know how to abuse and call men of God nasty names, that d God of heaven will also give u same reward, u will be abused and called nasty names in ths life, and becus u dont have d kind of grace that is upon Pst Chris, then u shall live to regret d days of ur life forever. Amen

Hutchie: In Matt 24 Jesus makes it clear that no man knoweth the day nor the hour when the Son of man should put in His appearance. The Mayans did not predict the endtimes. There are charlatans out there however (some dressed up as scientists etc) who twist the Mayan calendar to arrive at a Mayan prophesy which they then use to fuel media hysteria and propaganda, with the help of the 2012 film and other documentaries. It wouldn't surprise me if the governments of the world are partly behind it because it is a useful ploy to destract the people from their impoverished state whilst themselves continue to share scarce benefits amongst themselves to maintain their lifestyles.

A word to the doubters however - Make no mistake for the world shall surely come to an end one day when you think not.

PastorKun: There is not one single verse in the whole bible that requires tithes of christians. Church tithing today is derived from fraudulent manipulation of scriptures by mis applying scriptures asking Israelites to tithe of their farm produce to mean christians should tithe of their income. This is a classic case of twisting scriptures. Christians are not under the law, tithe was a practise under the law and the law was brought to an end with the death and resurrection of christ.

OLAADEGBU: So satan's agents got ministry too?

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).

frosbel: THE body of Christ is under a relentless siege. It has been invaded by conmen and conwomen who do not want to sweat for a living. “In sweat of the face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground.......,” God pronounced the life sentence on us through our ancestor, Adam, following the fall (Genesis 3:19). But this breed of the human race is cleverly finding a way around the Edenic curse. I am not referring to you the honest, humble and hardworking servants of the Lord but the luxury-seeking crooks who are using Christianity to amass wealth.

These men and women don’t want to be called by such simple, modest and humble titles as father, pastor or reverend. They want titles that will awe, subdue and mesmerise their prospective victims - doctor, bishop, prophet, apostle, man of God, anointed one of God and many more.
They have also come up with high sounding names for their churches, often with ‘international’, ‘world’ or ‘all nations’ to make them sound more attractive. These people are highly-talented, intelligent and skilful.

Their two primary goals are a life of luxury and being hero-worshipped by their docile followers. The leeches have easily found fertile ground within the liberal Christian fraternity whose doctrine does not place any emphasis on repentance and salvation but dwells on euphoria, emotionalism, materialism and the prospect of a life free of problems. They are fully aware that few members of their gullible flocks are willing to prayerfully study the Holy Bible on their own, which is the only way God can open their eyes and set them free from their bondage. “Plant the seed” is their new catchphrase.

Biblically ‘illiterate’ and materialistic Christians are being fooled into parting away with their hard-earned money and expensive possessions with promises of an ‘earthly paradise’ as the clever preachers laugh all the way to the bank. The willing victims of this shameless deception are duped into believing that once they “plant the seed” it will germinate and bear fruits in form of a prosperous, blissful, worry-free life. Not salvation.

The sermons and Bible studies are carefully tailored to appeal to the wildest fantasies of the listeners. They are so cleverly delivered that the victims are rendered completely helpless, blinded by the prospect of a ‘heaven on earth’. And in this massive deception education is not a factor at all. Both the illiterate and learned have been innocently swallowing the lies with gratitude. They will shout, clap their hands, whistle, hop up and down and ogle their eyes in sincere ecstasy as they are bombarded with one lie after another as if they are excited at the prospect of salvation.

The cheats will convince their flock that they are giving to God when they are actually financing their luxurious lifestyles and making them wealthier by the day while they remain wallowing in sin. How often do these people beg you to repent or warn you about the ghastly consequences of dying in sin in their sermons and Bible studies? To ensure a steady flow of money and material donations some of them are cleverly investing part of the booty in magnificent, multimillion dollar houses of worship and auxiliary infrastructure. They have also opened schools and orphanages, and are giving generously towards charity.

Don’t be fooled. It is a smokescreen. Those massive structures are often meant to caress the egos of the churches’ founders and their inner circle while creating a sense of pride in the minds of the members so that they can give even more. The sad part of it all is that instead of viewing these awe-inspiring super structures as God’s instruments of salvation that should draw them closer to heaven the contributors are regarding them as status symbols and sources of prestige. It is all about class. Those beautiful buildings and high sounding names of the churches are effectively being used as baits to entice the gullible into giving more and attract new members. The principle is that the larger the flock the fatter the bank account.

These people will stop at nothing. They are now even offering the so called anointing oil and holy water for sale, and their customers are not few. Are you people sure you are not buying demons, which may begin to control your lives? The crooks will never run out of victims. They have been targeting two spiritually vulnerable groups - the desperate (including the poor) and the middle class (workers and business people). The poor and desperate are enticed with promises of freedom from illness, employment, marriage, matrimonial bliss and children. #

The working class are promised promotion, better jobs with higher pay and job security while the business people want multiplicity and security of their wealth, personal protection and longevity. Seldom is repentance preached for it does not sound attractive in the ears of these groups.
The poor, sick, jobless, single and childless Christians are driven into the hands of these deceivers by desperation and the prospect of relief while the working class and business people are spurred by nothing but greed and materialism. We need to face the truth, my beloved brothers and sisters, so that it can set us free!

It is unfortunate that the very people who are being deceived and milked dry are the first to jump to the defence of these human leeches. Please God, liberate your children from the powerful spell of these morons. Brothers and sisters in Christ don’t be fooled. God’s blessings are not up for sale. They are free. Our duty is to remain faithful to Him. We should only give to the church to appreciate Him as our Creator; to thank Him for the gift of His son Jesus Christ who has saved us and the gift of life. It is up to Him to choose how to acknowledge our humility.

The ‘plant a seed’ preachers have gleaned a few verses from the two Chronicles, Numbers and Genesis in the Bible, but their favourite verse is Malachi 3:10 in which the prophet entreats the children of Israel to “bring the tithes into the storehouse” and throws a challenge at them to “prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will open you the windows of heaven, and pour you a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive”.

However, those who will care to read the whole book of Malachi will realise that its central theme is not “planting the seed” in exchange for ‘unmanageable’ blessings or a life of bliss. Such an interpretation is seriously flawed. The common thread through the whole book is restoration or revival. Why are we being deceived when the Bible is there to protect us? The prophet was seeking to restore the personal relationship between God and His people. It is not about buying blessings with tithes and offerings of the ‘seed’ as I will show next Sunday. Make a date!

http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/index.php/features/item/471-stealing-stealing-in-the-name-of-the-lord?tmpl=component&print=1

Provie: I am told that believers of old were called "Christians" because they were "behaving like Christ". I remember when Jesus asked Peter whether his boat will accommodate him. Jesus himself travelled far and wide preaching the gospel and healing the sick. He never sought to own even one boat which was such a great necessity for his ministry. He was so compassionate; always giving back to the people even when he never had and never bothered to have.

Today the reverse is the case, yet we still lay claim to the same name "Christians". I am not bothered about what those prosperity preachers are doing to people, much as I am bothered about the level of gullibility existing in the majority of worshippers.

nora544: Now it is not a catholic doctrine it comes from the new churches in America.

I am a catholic and what we have in my country is churchtax what every catholic has to pay and that is 1,1% of my salary and that is for the churchbuildings and the salary of the priest so that is not much and when the montly salary is under 1000 Euro than you pay no churchtax and you can give if you have to the church. When you pay this churchtax than you get the money back from the goverment what you pay for the churchtax.

We never had it in my country since 1790!

Horus: Pastors ask for tithes in the name of God. They say “God needs your help building the church”. What does god need with a multi-million dollar church? Nothing. These are the same so-called church leaders that you'll find riding in fancy cars, eating the best foods, living in expensive homes and living the life of wealthy people while their followers scrape and struggle to do “God's will” by tithing. These so-called leaders will lead congregations in the worse of the worse neighborhoods and on their way to church to preach on Sundays or Saturdays or whatever day they declare to be the Sabbath, they will step over the homeless or the less fortunate.