₦airaland Forum

Culled Online...

THOSE WHO DISAGREE WITH TITHING
I have compiled a list of those who disagree with tithing including pastors, evangelists, theologians, authors, churches, & organizations. This is not an endorsement of their other theology or doctrine. I found many names that were already stated from Russell Earl Kelly (http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/) and David Croteau’s (http://slaveoftheword..com/) website. But, I found some names that were not listed. I painstakingly went through lists of historical Christian figures and searched through their writings to compile these quotes. I also went a step further and found as many original sources and then linked directly to them for further affirmation. If you find anything in error, please let me know.

Theologians & Evangelists & Pastors

Arnold Fruchtenbaum Ph.D.
B. B. Warfield (1851 – 1921)
Bob Utley Ph. D.
Bruce Metzger (1914 – 2007)
C. S. Lewis (1898 – 1963)
C.I. Scofield (1843 – 1921)
Charles Buck (1771–1815)
Charles C. Ryrie (1925)
Charles Spurgeon (1834 – 1892)
David Croteau, Ph.D.
Erasmus (1466 – 1536)
F.F. Bruce (1910 – 1990)
Francis Chan (1967)
Francis Turretin (1623 – 1687)
Frank Stagg (1911-2001)
Frank Viola
Franz Pieper 1852 – 1931
G. Campbell Morgan
George Barna (1955)
George Fox (1624 – 1691)
Irenaeus (130 – 202)
J. Vernon McGee, Th.D., LL.D (1904 – 1988)
James Montgomery Boice (1938 – 2000)
John Bunyan (1628 – 1688)
John Cotton (1585 – 1652)
John Huss (1369 – 1415)
John MacArthur (1939)
John Milton (1608 – 1674)
John Nelson Darby (1800 – 1882)
John Owen (1616 – 1683)
John Piper (1946)
John Robinson (1576 – 1625)
John Smyth (1570 – 1612)
John Wesley (1703 – 1791)
John Wycliffe (1330 – 1384)
Justin Martyr (100 – 165)
Les Feldick
Lewis Sperry Chafer
Mark Driscoll
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546)
Matthew Henry (1662 – 1714)
Origen (184 – 253)
Richard C. H. Lenski (1864 – 1936)
Roger Williams
Russell Earl Kelly, Ph.D
Tertullian (160 – 220)
Thomas R. Schreiner
W.E. Vine (1873 to 1949)
Walter Elwell, Ph.D. (1937)
William MacDonald (1917 – 2007)

Just thought to share this. (Like I posted in a similar thread)

Jews Do Not Tithe Today

Thankfully, Jewish theologians know better than their Christian counterparts. They are well aware that only Levites have the right to receive tithe of the people. After all, the Jewish leaders have the Old Testament as their Scripture and that’s what it commands. And since there is no Temple in existence (and consequently no ordained Levites or Priests serving in a Temple), then a major factor in fulfilling the laws of tithing does not exist in our modern world.
In regard to this, it may be profitable to relate an event that happened to me over thirty–five years ago when I was just starting to study theology in college. A letter had been given to me for answering. It was from a woman who heard that modern Jews were not tithing. She wanted to know whether the information was true, and if so, why the Jews seemingly violated the plain laws of the Bible which spoke of tithing as a law to be obeyed?

Having read the letter, I began to share her concern. To resolve the matter I telephoned three rabbis in the Los Angeles area for their explanation. Much to my dismay, all three independently of each other informed me that no religious Jew should tithe today. I was startled at their replies. This appeared to be evidence that the Jews were so lax with their biblical interpretation that they were abandoning even the simple words of their own Scripture about the laws of tithing.

By the time I spoke with the last rabbi, my youthful indignation was beginning to emerge. But that rabbi then wisely began to show me my ignorance (not his) in the whole matter. First, he admitted that none of his congregation paid one penny of tithe that was demanded in the Old Testament. He then said: "If any member of my synagogue paid tithe in the scriptural manner, he would be disobeying the law of God—he would besinning against God."

I was staggered by his answer. He went on to inform me that since the Bible demands that the tithe be paid to Levites, he said it would be wrong to pay it to anyone else. And further, because there is presently no official Levitical order of Priests ministering at a Temple in Jerusalem, this makes it illegal at this period to pay any biblical tithe. He went on to say, however, that the moment a Temple is rebuilt, with its altar in operation and with the priesthood officiating at that altar (and the Levites there to assist them), then every Jew who lives in the tithing zones mentioned in the Bible will be required to tithe according to the biblical commands.

This teaching was a revelation to me (as it may be to some of our readers), but the rabbi gave the proper biblical answers. To pay the biblical tithe at this time, without Levites and Priests in their regular ordained offices and doing service in the Temple, would be "sin" both to the giver and the receiver. The rabbi told me: "If we are to obey the law, we cannot pay tithe unless we pay it to the ones ordained by God to accept that tithe."

The rabbi explained that though he was the chief rabbi of his synagogue, he was not a Levite. He said he was descended from the tribe of Judah and was thereby not eligible to receive tithe. The same disqualification applied even to Christ Jesus while he was on earth since he was also reckoned as having come from the tribe of Judah. This same restriction was applicable to the activities of the apostle Peter (because he was as well from Judah) and it applied to the apostle Paul (because he was from the tribe of Benjamin). Neither Christ nor those apostles were Levites so they were all disqualified from receiving any part of the biblical tithe. It is just that simple.
And listen, if Christ, Peter and Paul did not use the biblical tithe for any of their work in teaching the Gospel, Christian ministers today should not use the biblical tithe either. The Jewish religious authorities are wise enough to read what the Word of God states about the tithe and, thankfully, they abide by it. But our Gentile preachers and priests care very little what the biblical texts actually state and go merrily on their way by devising their own laws of tithing which are different from those of the Bible.

The rabbi then gave me some information on the method that many Jews use today to secure adequate funds with which to operate their religious organizations. He went on to say that the activities of his synagogue were financially supported through the adoption of the "patron system" by its members. That is, families would buy seats in the synagogue for various prices each year. The rabbi mentioned that many of his congregation actually paid more than a tenth of their income to get better seats in the synagogue. This method for raising funds is perfectly proper (from the biblical point of view) if Jews wish to use it. This is because the money is paid to the synagogue and not to an ordained Levitical priesthood.

The final rabbi was correctly interpreting the teaching of the Holy Scripture. While many Christian ministers today teach that Christians may be in danger of missing salvation itself if they do not pay tithe to the church, Jewish rabbis know better than to say such a thing. They realize that it is biblically improper (actually, it is a blatant disobedience to the laws of the Bible) for anyone to pay or to receive the biblical tithe today. And any minister or ecclesiastical leader who uses the biblical tithe (or any one who pays to a minister the biblical tithe) is asinner in the eyes of God.

sleekymag:
Any age restrictions?

Not more than 35 years old.

Also do not forget to put ur preferred location (whether Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt) in the subject of your email.
Thank you.

Please do not forget to write a cover letter in addition to the attached CV. Thanks.

We are a start-up media production and publishing company. We require the services of high-flying, motivated, and results-oriented advertising sales executives for immediate employment in the following cities:- LAGOS, ABUJA & PORT HARCOURT.

If this looks like you, send your CV with a cover letter stating your qualifications, and why you're the right person for the job. Your email should be addressed to ornamentmedialimited@gmail.com. Also remember to state your preferred location.

Application closes on the 31st July, 2017. Thank you.

My advice. Go for NYSC first but start processing ur Masters admission process for Canada. For now u haven't been offered admission there so what if u miss both (assuming u skipped NYSC), and failed to secure admission which you'll only get to know about next year (for Fall admission 2018?
So go for NYSC, if the admission comes, fine. You may not complete the NYSC if the school can't grant u to resume around Nov, or winter admission deferment till January 2019. That way u could even get both ur NYSC and still make it on time to Canada for ur Masters.

After doing heart surgery six times. 3 billion$ ??. This is a joke right!

The Rockefeller family's wealth is always understated. Besides this man retired 36 years ago (1981), so he left the capitalism scene a long time ago. Though it must be said they have investments in so many places...

PassingShot:
Only if there was honor among thieves!

In response to the thread by TonyeBarcanista, it is important to constantly remind him and those like him who have demonstrated to be gifted with short memory, how and why we are in the sorry state we are.

Without wasting time, let’s liken Nigeria to a young family man who worked for sixteen years on very decent monthly salary of N1,000,000. In the sixteen years he earned N1M monthly, the said man has acquired taste for luxury life, living in a duplex in Ajah Estate with all the good things life could offer. This man was living large and had little or nothing in savings. Then one day, he lost his high-paying job and could only manage to secure another one which offers a third of what he used to earn. His new job only pays N300,000 monthly!

Without being told or advised by anyone, the man must realize that he can no longer house his family in the Ajah duplex they’d lived for sixteen years even if there was savings let alone when there is no reasonable savings. He must therefore scale down on EVERYTHING about his living and that of his family. He will need to change his children’s school. He will need to move into a 2 or 3 bedroom flat in Ikorodu or Agege. He will need to ride a smaller car. If his family used to go on weekly/monthly picnic, that also must stop. His and his family choice of food will change. In fact, he must engage more in DIY (Do It Yourself) than ever before for some tasks. Such man will have no one to blame for needing to scale down on his living except himself!

If we all agree that the man in the example above must cut back on his spending with a lot of sacrifices, there should be no reason why any reasonable person will fail to understand why Nigeria is in the current economic mess or what sacrifices Nigeria must make to weather the storm.

OBJ, with all his flaws, managed to build decent external reserves ($45bn ), created and built the excess crude account (above $20bn) for rainy days and was able to hand over good economy to Yar’Adua. Yar’Adua was on the same trajectory before his creator decided to take him away.

GEJ inherited $47bn in foreign reserves plus another $20bn+ in ECA. During the over five years he spent as president, crude oil which is the major source of income to Nigeria (responsible for more than 90% or our dollar earnings) sold for an average of $100 per barrel, yet the hugely incompetent man from Otuoke found a way to plunge the reserves to an abysmal level of $29bn as at the time of his exit and went on borrowing spree (which was also looted) even when there was no need to. In fact, GEJ and his gang r@ped Nigeria without mercy such that the FG had to borrow money to pay its workers in Nov 2014 and March 2015 just because crude price crashed from $100 to $76 a barrel. Sane minds can only imagine how such regime could have fared, or how much we would have suffered, if they were in charge of our affairs when crude crashed further to $27 a barrel.

Let’s not even talk about the ECA which his supporters will be quick to blame the governors for asking it to be shared. Though they will pretend not to know that the request of the governors made perfect sense for the fact that GEJ and Ngozi were fond of stealing from the account which jointly belonged to the FG and the states, they know in their mind that there argument lacks merit.

Is there anything happening in Nigeria today that was not foreseen, predicted or that we were not warned about? The answer is a resounding NO.

Let us refresh our memory with the warnings and predictions about today’s hardship and economic woes perhaps a few minds will be more objective and more reasonable.

1. OBJ warned Jonathan in Nov 2014: Extracts from the report:

"Sooner or later, the Naira will have to be drastically devalued without any advantage to our one commodity economy but with horrendous disadvantage to already impoverished Nigerians. We will all sink deeper in poverty except for those who have corruptly stashed money abroad and who will start to bring such illegal and illegitimate funds back home to harvest more Naira. All the economic gains of recent years and the rebuild of the middle class may be lost.”

“In the end, more businesses will close down, business men and women, entrepreneurs and investors will incur more debts. Foreign investors may temporarily stop investing in a downturn economy.
“Because of the Naira depreciation, workers, particularly in the public sector, will ask for pay increase, which may be justified but will sink us deeper in the swamp.
“The scenario, which may sound alarmist, is hard to imagine but the signs are there and it would appear that those who should act are dancing slow foxtrot while their trousers are catching fire”.
http://thenationonlineng.net/obasanjo-warns-jonathan-economy-is-in-big-trouble/


2. Sanusi, the then Governor of Central Bank warned too!

“Over 20 billion dollars unremitted to the federation account, and if nothing is done, by 2015 upward Nigeria will know what economic crisis is.”

When he was invited by the Senate to substantiate his claim, he said"

“It is established that out of the 67 billion dollars crude shipped by NNPC between January 2012 and July 2013, $47 billion was remitted to the Federation Account. It is now up to the NNPC to prove that $20 billion unremitted either did not belong to the federation or was legally and constitutionally spent. There is no dispute that $20 billion out of the $67 billion has not been paid into any account with the CBN,” he said.
http://icirnigeria.org/sanusi-insists-20-billion-is-missing-nnpc-denies-allegation/

We all know how Sanusi the whistle blower was sacked by the fisherman.


3. Oby Ezekwesili sounded the alarm bell in 2013: “Our reserve is depleted and our savings are squandered. Our nation is in trouble.”
She later stated: “The key FACT is that even by the time of that crisis when Soludo had to defend the Naira with our Foreign Reserve, he spent about $15b of it and still left behind about $45b when he departed as Central Bank Governor in 2009!!!
Now imagine that since that time oil prices have averaged between $95-$100 per barrel and we export an average of 750 million barrels per annum. How then can the Foreign Reserve only now be starting to grow back to the same size it was in 2009 after such hefty earnings of the last 4 years? The FG numbers do not add up at all and we need to know why!
The citizens need an explanation and that’s why I called for accountability. It is simply a patriotic call which should not result in the name calling by officials of government."

http://dailypost.ng/2013/03/08/oby-ezekwesili-now-that-sanusi-lamido-sanusi-has-admitted-fiscal-leakages/


4. Jonathan Lacked Political Will to Save – Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

And madam Gele finally agrees to her and her boss’ gross incompetence by saying:

The former finance minister and World Bank president, who spoke on “inequality, growth and resilience,” with Chile as an example of a country with a saving culture, said:

“We tried it in Nigeria, we put in an oil price based fiscal rule in 2004 and it worked very well. “We saved $22 billion because the political will to do it was there. And when the 2008 /2009 crisis came, we were able to draw on those savings precisely to issue about a five per cent of GDP fiscal stimulus to the economy, and we never had to come to the Bank or the Fund. “This time around and this is the key now, you need not only to have the instrument, but you also need the political will. In my second time as a finance minister, from 2011 to 2015, we had the instrument, we had the means, we had done it before, but zero political will. “So we were not able to save when we should have. That is why you find that Nigeria is now in the situation it is in, along with so many other countries.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/nigeria-had-no-political-will-to-save-under-jonathan-okonjo-iweala/
For the “video or Idontbelieve it” crew, it is available on YouTube as well.

[b]Now that we have seen that today’s economic mess was created by GEJ and his thieving gang, it makes no sense for anyone to blame PMB for the current situation. If anything, PMB deserves commendations for being able to provide bailouts to states owing salaries before he came on board, for being able to provide additional budget support due to reduced allocation to state, for being able to increase our foreign reserves despite that crude price is still at around $50 per barrel, for being able to build roads that those who earned billions in dollars couldn’t touch, for being able to start N-Power project employing hundreds of thousands unemployed youths, for being able to complete abandoned Kaduna-Abuja rail project, for being able to restore life in the NE that was ravaged by Boko Haram due to GEJ’s incompetence, for being able to bring some past looters to justice (Dasuki, Andrew Yakbu, Diezani, Bafarawa, Akpobolokemi, etc), for being able to restore some sanity in our ultra-corrupt judiciary, for ending fuel subsidy scam, for working towards self-sustenance in rice and other staple food production, for working to make Nigeria refine her own crude locally by 2019, etc., etc.[/b]

GEJ and his gang of looters raped Nigeria without using condom or any form of protection. The product of such violation is today’s economic hardship.

Had PMB not become president, Nigeria would have completely failed. I have no doubt about that happening and it’s based on what have now been revealed in the numerous looting of our common wealth.


God Bless PMB/VPYO
God Bless Nigeria

Whilst I appreciate your post, it would be foolhardy to swallow all you put here hook, line and sinker. From my own point of view, this administration is chiefly responsible for where Nigeria is currently.

If PMB had constituted his cabinet on time, and with round pegs in round holes, and had devalued the naira before September 2015, as he was advised then, we would have largely avoided the downturn we have experienced in the last one and half years and counting...

https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2015-09-16/nigerian-president-buhari-rules-out-further-devaluation-of-naira-iemoarjh

The various monetary policy fluctuations without corresponding fiscal policies have helped to compound the woes for us as a nation. This govt's policies have hurt the economy more than helped it.

Many of the positives we can even attribute to this administration are things the previous administration had launched and were expanding on (e.g. TSA, IPPIS). Even oil sufficiency which Dangote refinery is working to actualize by 2018, was signed and approved by GEJ's admin.

We use the excuse of low oil prices meanwhile 2016 budget had an oil benchmark of $38 per barrel, yet the budget was over N6.04 trillion (oil accounting for not more than N800b, less than N1trn), much more than previous admins budgets. So what excuse did the govt give for not actualizing the unrealistic budget?

The only obvious kudos that this administration deserves is it's fight against corruption and the monies that have been recovered. GEJ didn't do enough in this regard. But then it appears to be a one-sided fight, with no member of PMB's cabinet indicted or found wanting despite a few allegations here and there.

We can keep looking back to blame the past instead of moving forward and solving the current problems Nigerians are faced with. Enough of blame games, this govt won somehow because the last govt didn't totally deliver. This govt should sit up and work hard to alleviate the sufferings of its people. It shouldn't be that difficult, or is it?

Just thought to share this. (Like I posted in a similar thread)

Jews Do Not Tithe Today

Thankfully, Jewish theologians know better than their Christian counterparts. They are well aware that only Levites have the right to receive tithe of the people. After all, the Jewish leaders have the Old Testament as their Scripture and that’s what it commands. And since there is no Temple in existence (and consequently no ordained Levites or Priests serving in a Temple), then a major factor in fulfilling the laws of tithing does not exist in our modern world.
In regard to this, it may be profitable to relate an event that happened to me over thirty–five years ago when I was just starting to study theology in college. A letter had been given to me for answering. It was from a woman who heard that modern Jews were not tithing. She wanted to know whether the information was true, and if so, why the Jews seemingly violated the plain laws of the Bible which spoke of tithing as a law to be obeyed?

Having read the letter, I began to share her concern. To resolve the matter I telephoned three rabbis in the Los Angeles area for their explanation. Much to my dismay, all three independently of each other informed me that no religious Jew should tithe today. I was startled at their replies. This appeared to be evidence that the Jews were so lax with their biblical interpretation that they were abandoning even the simple words of their own Scripture about the laws of tithing.

By the time I spoke with the last rabbi, my youthful indignation was beginning to emerge. But that rabbi then wisely began to show me my ignorance (not his) in the whole matter. First, he admitted that none of his congregation paid one penny of tithe that was demanded in the Old Testament. He then said: "If any member of my synagogue paid tithe in the scriptural manner, he would be disobeying the law of God—he would besinning against God."

I was staggered by his answer. He went on to inform me that since the Bible demands that the tithe be paid to Levites, he said it would be wrong to pay it to anyone else. And further, because there is presently no official Levitical order of Priests ministering at a Temple in Jerusalem, this makes it illegal at this period to pay any biblical tithe. He went on to say, however, that the moment a Temple is rebuilt, with its altar in operation and with the priesthood officiating at that altar (and the Levites there to assist them), then every Jew who lives in the tithing zones mentioned in the Bible will be required to tithe according to the biblical commands.

This teaching was a revelation to me (as it may be to some of our readers), but the rabbi gave the proper biblical answers. To pay the biblical tithe at this time, without Levites and Priests in their regular ordained offices and doing service in the Temple, would be "sin" both to the giver and the receiver. The rabbi told me: "If we are to obey the law, we cannot pay tithe unless we pay it to the ones ordained by God to accept that tithe."

The rabbi explained that though he was the chief rabbi of his synagogue, he was not a Levite. He said he was descended from the tribe of Judah and was thereby not eligible to receive tithe. The same disqualification applied even to Christ Jesus while he was on earth since he was also reckoned as having come from the tribe of Judah. This same restriction was applicable to the activities of the apostle Peter (because he was as well from Judah) and it applied to the apostle Paul (because he was from the tribe of Benjamin). Neither Christ nor those apostles were Levites so they were all disqualified from receiving any part of the biblical tithe. It is just that simple.
And listen, if Christ, Peter and Paul did not use the biblical tithe for any of their work in teaching the Gospel, Christian ministers today should not use the biblical tithe either. The Jewish religious authorities are wise enough to read what the Word of God states about the tithe and, thankfully, they abide by it. But our Gentile preachers and priests care very little what the biblical texts actually state and go merrily on their way by devising their own laws of tithing which are different from those of the Bible.

The rabbi then gave me some information on the method that many Jews use today to secure adequate funds with which to operate their religious organizations. He went on to say that the activities of his synagogue were financially supported through the adoption of the "patron system" by its members. That is, families would buy seats in the synagogue for various prices each year. The rabbi mentioned that many of his congregation actually paid more than a tenth of their income to get better seats in the synagogue. This method for raising funds is perfectly proper (from the biblical point of view) if Jews wish to use it. This is because the money is paid to the synagogue and not to an ordained Levitical priesthood.

The final rabbi was correctly interpreting the teaching of the Holy Scripture. While many Christian ministers today teach that Christians may be in danger of missing salvation itself if they do not pay tithe to the church, Jewish rabbis know better than to say such a thing. They realize that it is biblically improper (actually, it is a blatant disobedience to the laws of the Bible) for anyone to pay or to receive the biblical tithe today. And any minister or ecclesiastical leader who uses the biblical tithe (or any one who pays to a minister the biblical tithe) is asinner in the eyes of God.

sekundosekundo:
Where's it written that the scripture is not applicable under the new testament, today's Levites in the Church how do you take care of them?. Pls I need an answer.

Maybe this article below would help you a bit.

To tithe or not to tithe? That is the question.

And how we answer leads to other questions:

Gross or net? What if in debt?
Should we give 10% of everything, including Christmas and birthday gifts and tax refunds?
If you cannot give with joy, should you just not give at all?
Unfortunately, a simple answer won’t suffice.

Tithing in the Old Testament

The word “tithe” is derived from the word “tenth,” and Israel’s forefathers had long practiced a tradition of giving 10% (Gen. 14:20, 28:22) before it was instituted at Sinai (Lev. 27:30-32; Num. 18:21-28; Deut. 12:5-19, 14:22-29, 26:1-19).

Old Testament giving was diverse. Israel was to give sacrifices, freewill offerings, redeem their firstborn people and animals and pay various taxes, among other things. The 10% tithe on harvest and flock was simply one aspect of the diverse gifts required under the Mosaic Covenant, and some estimate that as much as 25% of income was required when considering the various festivals and offerings present.

Though I don’t remember many sermons from my childhood, I vividly remember Malachi 3:8-10. Failure to tithe 10% of your income was equal to thievery, I was told.

But is this the case? Is 10% still required and expected? Or has the revelation of the gospel clarified how we are to think about giving?

Tithing in the New Testament

Beyond a mention of tithing in a parable (Luke 18:12) and a description of Abraham’s gift to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:3-10), tithing is only mentioned in two parallel passages of the Gospels (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). The New Testament never commands the tithe, but the parallel gospel accounts assume it.

What are we to make of this virtual silence in the New Testament?

As with each and every element of the Old Testament, we must read through gospel-informed lenses. We don’t live in ancient Israel and thus must not woodenly apply the prescriptions of the Old Covenant as if not living in the New. The life, death and resurrection of Christ has fundamentally transformed how believers are to relate to the Mosaic Law.1

Jesus changes everything by exposing motivation and intent.

I can almost hear Christ whispering, “You have heard it said, ‘give your tithe of 10%,’ but I say to you…”

How Do We Give?

God gives. No truth is more readily apparent in Scripture than the generosity, grace and gifts of God. He delights in giving.

As those being conformed to the image of Christ, we should equally delight in giving. And it isn’t just giving in general that is expected; rather it is selfless and sacrificial giving that overflows from a heart responding to the generosity of the gospel.

Here are a few principles to consider:

Give generously.
Consider 2 Corinthians 8-9. If you want to grasp giving, read those chapters and read them again. Not just the “God loves the cheerful giver” section, but the whole thing. The Macedonians gave generously, “beyond their means,” and begged earnestly for “the favor” of doing so. This is radical giving, not just throwing some pocket change in the plate as it passes by.

Give cheerfully.
There is a reward for giving, but it is dependent upon a heart free from a lust for the temporal rewards of this earth (Matt.6:1-4).

Gospel giving is cheerful and voluntary because it trusts that every deposit into the kingdom will earn eternal interest.

If you can’t give cheerfully, give anyway (don’t compound your internal sin with external sin), but as you do, confess your struggle, seek clarity on the disconnect between your heart and the gospel, pray for joy, and walk in repentance.

Give sacrificially.
This is probably the most underappreciated and underapplied principle for Christian giving today. It inconveniences us, and the flesh is quick to offer excuses and justification, but the gospel calls us to deep and radical sacrifice.

In 1 John 3:16-17, the apostle exhorts the Church to care for brothers in need as an overflow and implication of gospel love, the type of love that lays down one’s life for another. Do we actually give to the point that we feel it and the feeling stings? Does the call to take up our cross (Matt. 16:24-26) not also carry the charge to lay down our checkbooks?

Give spontaneously.
A heart freed by the gospel does not wait for opportunities to give. It intentionally seeks them out. Gospel giving looks for chances to bless others and listens to the needs of those near and far.

Gospel generosity gives to those who beg (Matt. 5:42), risking the gift might not be used properly (which is not to say that it is not righteous and wise to occasionally withhold support for some greater purpose). Those walking in the light of the gospel engage in good deeds and meet pressing needs anytime and anywhere they arise.

Give regularly.
Though we should give as need arises, we should also be consistent and disciplined in giving. Giving is linked with prayer and fasting (Matt. 6:1-18), and both should contain some element of discipline and regularity.

In 1 Corinthians 16:2, the apostle Paul explicitly commends a disciplined and orderly form of giving in addition to whatever spontaneous offerings and gifts we might be compelled to give.

Give secretly.
I don’t think that Jesus necessarily intends for us to sign Christmas cards “John Doe,” but there is a general theme of secret giving for the sake of eternal reward. The flesh craves the praise of man, and thus we need to beware the hypocrisy and tendency to give in an effort to purchase the acclaim, attention and affection of others (Matt. 6:2-4).

Give thankfully.
Grace is the basis for gratitude. As those who have received grace, we should gratefully extend it to others.

To Whom Do Believers Give?

Knowing how we should give in principle, we see that Scripture calls us to give to:

Our local church
Our spiritual family
Our biological family
Our neighbors
Our enemies
Though the law of the tithe as understood in its Old Testament context is no longer mandatory for believers, I would argue strongly that giving a regular, set amount to your local church is a healthy and helpful principle. God commands the church members to support those who explicitly labor for the sake of the kingdom (1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 Cor. 9:3-12), and the church leaders often have a greater picture of the church’s and the community’s needs.

Within the New Testament, we see the early church selling their possessions and laying the proceeds at the feet of the apostles (Acts 4:32-37), trusting them to discern how to best steward the gifts. In the same way, you should entrust a major portion of your giving to your local church. If you are not currently covenanted with a church whose leadership you trust, you have a responsibility to honestly consider the motivations of your own heart and humbly dialogue through your concerns with your leaders. If, after taking these steps, your mistrust is found to be appropriate, go elsewhere. If you can’t trust your pastors with your giving, you probably shouldn’t trust them with your growth in Christ.

In addition to giving to a local church, there are many missionaries and ministries in need of funding, as well as countless family, friends, neighbors, enemies, widows, orphans, and the impoverished and oppressed. Such need requires attentive hearts. It is hard to be generous and compassionate without being observant and aware of the needs around us.

Informed by gospel lenses, we should not think of giving as a mere responsibility, but an opportunity. In view of this reality, 10% should not be the goal. We should continue to think through how we can afford to give more and more.

The gospel compels us to give, confronting our fleshly tendencies toward greed, control, comfort and convenience.

What if a raise or bonus provided an opportunity to further advance the gospel rather than buy a bigger house?

What if where we ate and traveled and what we wore and drove were all filtered through kingdom lenses?

What if we sought to give not 10% but 25% or 50% or more?

Forget the tithe. Are you giving generously, cheerfully, sacrificially, spontaneously, regularly, secretly and thankfully? If not, why not?

smilingjosh:
Lolz lack of understanding.

You that have understanding...oya expantiate na. You clearly have nothing on me here...

sekundosekundo:
Since there's a provision for tithe payment in the book of Malachi 8, and Jesus didn't condemn it, what does that tell you?.

First off, there is nothing like Malachi 8 in the Bible. Maybe you meant Malachi 3:8. That scripture was talking about the law.. and he storehouse in question was the place where all tithe items (which was strictly food items ...farm produce or animal produce and not money, even though money was in existence then) were brought for onward distribution to the Levites and the Priest. The scripture isn't applicable under the new testament, where Grace abounds.

Just thought to share this.

Jews Do Not Tithe Today

Thankfully, Jewish theologians know better than their Christian counterparts. They are well aware that only Levites have the right to receive tithe of the people. After all, the Jewish leaders have the Old Testament as their Scripture and that’s what it commands. And since there is no Temple in existence (and consequently no ordained Levites or Priests serving in a Temple), then a major factor in fulfilling the laws of tithing does not exist in our modern world.
In regard to this, it may be profitable to relate an event that happened to me over thirty–five years ago when I was just starting to study theology in college. A letter had been given to me for answering. It was from a woman who heard that modern Jews were not tithing. She wanted to know whether the information was true, and if so, why the Jews seemingly violated the plain laws of the Bible which spoke of tithing as a law to be obeyed?

Having read the letter, I began to share her concern. To resolve the matter I telephoned three rabbis in the Los Angeles area for their explanation. Much to my dismay, all three independently of each other informed me that no religious Jew should tithe today. I was startled at their replies. This appeared to be evidence that the Jews were so lax with their biblical interpretation that they were abandoning even the simple words of their own Scripture about the laws of tithing.

By the time I spoke with the last rabbi, my youthful indignation was beginning to emerge. But that rabbi then wisely began to show me my ignorance (not his) in the whole matter. First, he admitted that none of his congregation paid one penny of tithe that was demanded in the Old Testament. He then said: "If any member of my synagogue paid tithe in the scriptural manner, he would be disobeying the law of God—he would besinning against God."

I was staggered by his answer. He went on to inform me that since the Bible demands that the tithe be paid to Levites, he said it would be wrong to pay it to anyone else. And further, because there is presently no official Levitical order of Priests ministering at a Temple in Jerusalem, this makes it illegal at this period to pay any biblical tithe. He went on to say, however, that the moment a Temple is rebuilt, with its altar in operation and with the priesthood officiating at that altar (and the Levites there to assist them), then every Jew who lives in the tithing zones mentioned in the Bible will be required to tithe according to the biblical commands.

This teaching was a revelation to me (as it may be to some of our readers), but the rabbi gave the proper biblical answers. To pay the biblical tithe at this time, without Levites and Priests in their regular ordained offices and doing service in the Temple, would be "sin" both to the giver and the receiver. The rabbi told me: "If we are to obey the law, we cannot pay tithe unless we pay it to the ones ordained by God to accept that tithe."

The rabbi explained that though he was the chief rabbi of his synagogue, he was not a Levite. He said he was descended from the tribe of Judah and was thereby not eligible to receive tithe. The same disqualification applied even to Christ Jesus while he was on earth since he was also reckoned as having come from the tribe of Judah. This same restriction was applicable to the activities of the apostle Peter (because he was as well from Judah) and it applied to the apostle Paul (because he was from the tribe of Benjamin). Neither Christ nor those apostles were Levites so they were all disqualified from receiving any part of the biblical tithe. It is just that simple.
And listen, if Christ, Peter and Paul did not use the biblical tithe for any of their work in teaching the Gospel, Christian ministers today should not use the biblical tithe either. The Jewish religious authorities are wise enough to read what the Word of God states about the tithe and, thankfully, they abide by it. But our Gentile preachers and priests care very little what the biblical texts actually state and go merrily on their way by devising their own laws of tithing which are different from those of the Bible.

The rabbi then gave me some information on the method that many Jews use today to secure adequate funds with which to operate their religious organizations. He went on to say that the activities of his synagogue were financially supported through the adoption of the "patron system" by its members. That is, families would buy seats in the synagogue for various prices each year. The rabbi mentioned that many of his congregation actually paid more than a tenth of their income to get better seats in the synagogue. This method for raising funds is perfectly proper (from the biblical point of view) if Jews wish to use it. This is because the money is paid to the synagogue and not to an ordained Levitical priesthood.

The final rabbi was correctly interpreting the teaching of the Holy Scripture. While many Christian ministers today teach that Christians may be in danger of missing salvation itself if they do not pay tithe to the church, Jewish rabbis know better than to say such a thing. They realize that it is biblically improper (actually, it is a blatant disobedience to the laws of the Bible) for anyone to pay or to receive the biblical tithe today. And any minister or ecclesiastical leader who uses the biblical tithe (or any one who pays to a minister the biblical tithe) is asinner in the eyes of God.

Pro-tithing advocates use Abraham's tithing as an example or justification. This is clearly not right. In Gen 14:20 Abraham didn't tithe his earnings to Melchizedek but the spoils of war. He never even took anything out of the spoils for himself but only asked that they gave his men what they'd eat from it, least they say they made Abraham rich. You see, Abraham was operating under a higher covenant because he was a friend of God who feared God and walked in righteousness, and God had pronounced blessing upon him. It was never because he tithed cos it was never reported that he ever tithed his income.