tebirim:
Is that how your pastor rob? Many are called but few are chosen...my pastor is not a robber like yours...sorry you better change Church. Stingy and greedy people keep complaining. Giving is biblical both tithe and offering. Even 1st fruit too is biblical.bring all thy substance into the store house, the store house can also be attributed to the Church, the needy and those in prison. You have your reasons why you don't wanna give and you accuse pastors so you can have enough reason not to pay your tithe and offering. Many persons have had strange encounter from just giving. You better learn to give today and remove that devilish heart that is telling you not to give because you want to know what your tithe is being used for after you have paid them.

tebirim:
Is that how your pastor rob? Many are called but few are chosen...my pastor is not a robber like yours...sorry you better change Church. Stingy and greedy people keep complaining. Giving is biblical both tithe and offering. Even 1st fruit too is biblical.bring all thy substance into the store house, the store house can also be attributed to the Church, the needy and those in prison. You have your reasons why you don't wanna give and you accuse pastors so you can have enough reason not to pay your tithe and offering. Many persons have had strange encounter from just giving. You better learn to give today and remove that devilish heart that is telling you not to give because you want to know what your tithe is being used for after you have paid them.

ceejay80s:

must u quote everything ?
Or are u a newbie

phemmylink:
Lengthy post.. but this issue caused rukus in my church today when I raised the fact the Jesus our role model as Christians did not pay first fruit nor tithe.. A cumbersome and controversial topic.. one have to be careful when you are grazing the surface.. and ask the Holy spirit to give one better understanding.. am not saying it is wrong neither am I saying otherwise

podosci:
Religion has turned humans into zombies......
During ma NYSC orientation camp, the church in the camp told corpers that there first allowance belonged to the church, that was not strange since churches hav been riping zombies off since 1800BC, but what was strange was when the pastor said the allowance MUST be givn to the NYSC camp church and no other church that it belonged to the NYSC church......All humans were born free but alot were enslaved from child birth

chronique:
Givers never lack. I give in my church when there is an opportunity to do so and I can say of a truth that,there's a turn around in my finances. I give cheerfully and that's why I am being blessed. If the giving is not from your heart,don't bother. Remember Cain and Abel.

frosbel:


Ask your PASTOR to get a Real Job and to stop stealing money from the poor.

engees001:
Give and it shal be given unto u

frosbel:


So how come atheists , Muslims and non-religious Christians like me and countless others are truly blessed and yet we do not give a dime in tithes or first fruits ?

Use you brain.

tebirim:
Your money doesn't count...how much do u think you give to God in a year? But you wan rich and get good job? Ingrates

frosbel:


I infer from your comment that you are actually a Pastor. So again, I say GO AND GET A JOB, stop depending on the hard earned money of our younger ones and increasing the level of hardship in their lives.

frosbel:


So how come atheists , Muslims and non-religious Christians like me and countless others are truly blessed and yet we do not give a dime in tithes or first fruits ?

Use you brain.

Titilayodeji13:

The armed robber takes your money from
you with a gun in his hand: the pastor
takes your money by brandishing a bible.
Jesus berated the mercenary religious
leaders of biblical days. He told them: “‘It
is written, my house shall be called a
house of prayer,’ but you have made it a
‘den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:13).
This word remains pertinent to pastors in
the churches of today. They come up with
all kinds of schemes designed to squeeze
money out of their church-members. They
search the scriptures, looking for quotable
quotes that can be used to make
merchandise of men. Some of their
favourites are those scriptures dealing
with giving first-fruits to priests.
Fleecing the flock
Those months with names ending with
“ember” in English are sometimes
referred to as the “ember” months. These
include September, October, November
and December. Strictly-speaking, October
does not fit this bill; otherwise it would
have been called “Octoember.”
Nevertheless, it is conventional also to
include it as one of the “ember” months.
In these months, there is a definite change
of emphasis in the messages preached by
pastors in many of today’s new generation
churches. If you have been paying
attention, you would have noticed this
already. In the “ember” months, pastors
start to talk repeatedly about the need to
give “first-fruits;” laying down the
foundation for a major robbery routinely
planned for January.
In the Old Testament, first-fruits were
required to be given to priests. Ezekiel
says: “The best of all the first-fruits and of
all your special gifts will belong to the
priests.” (Ezekiel 44:30). This scripture is
seized on by today’s money-grubbing
pastors who now insist that the “first-
fruits” of all the members of their
congregation must be handed over to
them.
This is disingenuous because, in the New
Testament, there is actually no longer an
exclusive priesthood. Instead, Jesus has
made all believers: “kings and priests to
our God.” (Revelation 5:10). But this fact
is conveniently ignored by today’s first-
fruits collectors.
First-fruits were given to priests because
they were not allowed to own landed-
property in Israel. God said: “I am to be
the only inheritance the priests have. You
are to give them no possession in Israel; I
will be their possession.” (Ezekiel
44:28-29).
However, the pastors of today are men of
means and property owners. In no way
whatsoever do they fit the bill of a people
without inheritance who only have God as
their possession. Indeed, some of today’s
mega-pastors are multi-millionaires who
drive around with bodyguards in a cortege
of Jeeps and even fly around in private
jets.
Fruits of money
As the word indicates, first-fruits were
strictly-speaking agricultural produce.
Moses says: “The first of the first-fruits of
your land you shall bring into the house of
the LORD your God.” (Exodus 23:19). This
shows first-fruits were crops. Indeed,
money was never regarded as first-fruit in
the bible; neither was it ever paid as such.
However, today’s pastors would not find it
funny if you were to bring your first-fruits
to them in bananas or pineapples. First-
fruits are now only acceptable in cash or
cheque. If you ask why, don’t be surprised
if you are told that: “Money is the answer
to everything.” (Ecclesiastes 10:19).
Scripturally, first-fruits were only
required from Jews living in Israel
because God gave them their land. First-
fruits were inapplicable to Israelites living
in foreign lands. This also means first-
fruits are inapplicable to today’s
Christians who are mostly non-Israelis
and do not live in Israel. Nevertheless,
pastors hoodwink Christians by claiming
there are special blessings attendant upon
giving first-fruits to pastors anywhere.
In biblical days, first-fruits were not
required from those in non-agrarian
trades, such as carpenters or fishermen
because these professions were not tied to
the land. However, today’s opportunist
pastors collect first-fruits from anybody
and everybody.
It should be clear from the foregoing
therefore that pastors who insist on
collecting first-fruits in the churches of
today are nothing but thieves and robbers.
The armed robber takes your money from
you with a gun in his hand: the pastor
takes your money by brandishing a bible.
Bonanza
It used to be the case that first-fruits were
defined as a Christian’s first salary after
leaving school and securing gainful
employment. But some pastors quickly
realised that this only gives them the right
to a Christian’s salary once in a lifetime.
Therefore, this soon became inadequate,
leading to more ingenious and more
financially lucrative biblical “revelations”
about first-fruits.
Many pastors now insist that since the
January salary is the first in the year, it
legally falls under the definition of first-
fruits. Therefore, they now require that all
church-goers hand over to them their
entire January salaries in the name of
first-fruits. This makes the first-fruits
boon far more profitable than the tithe;
which is just a tenth of the Christian’s
salary. Moreover, the tithe is nominally
given to “the church.” The “first-fruits” is
a far more rewarding scam because the
money is specifically addressed to the
pastor.
If this “godliness” is taught effectively, a
pastor can make a bundle of money at the
beginning of every year. Just do the
maths. Imagine a situation where the
pastor gets the January salary of every
single member of his congregation.
Depending on the size of his church, he
can get in one bonanza enough money to
last him a lifetime. Is it any wonder,
therefore, that pastors are very zealous in
preaching about first-fruits in the “ember”
months?
Many even refuse to be limited to their
churches. Turn onto Christian television
such as the Trinity Broadcasting Network
in the “ember” months, and you are likely
to find Paula White or Steve Munsey
extolling the blessings of giving first-
fruits. Of course, the first-fruits must be
sent to them and to no one else.
Comeuppance
In one of Nigeria’s big churches with a
large branch-network, the pastors were
making a killing collecting first-fruits. But
one of them used the money to put up a
church building. This went a long way to
endear him to his congregants. Other
pastors who had nothing to show for the
first-fruits they collected became
concerned that the pastor would soon
bring them into disrepute. So they decided
to take “appropriate” action.
They reported him to the General
Overseer of the church. His transgression
was that he put up an entire church
building single-handedly. So doing, they
claimed, he prevented others from getting
blessed by not taking contributions from
them. The General Overseer wondered
where he got the money to erect the entire
building by himself. So they told him the
money came from the first-fruits he
collected from his church-members.
The General Overseer became even more
curious. Just how much first-fruit were
these pastors collecting? He was
astonished to discover the sums involved.
It was unacceptable that such lucrative
business was taking place in his churches
without due recognition for his position.
Therefore, he fired a memo to all his
parishes: henceforth, all first-fruits must
be forwarded intact to headquarters.
However, his memo backfired. Thereafter,
his subordinate pastors noticeably lost all
interest in collecting first-fruits. “Let
everybody shout hallelujah.”
“They are greedy dogs which never have
enough. And they are pastors who cannot
understand; they all look to their own
way, every one for his own gain, from his
own territory.” (Isaiah 56:11).

www.vanguardngr.com/2014/12/pastors-planning-major-robbery-churches-january/

By Femi Aribisala.

Stelvin101:


The Bible say give from ur heart at ur own convenient hour and not one id1ot making it a must for you to give out ur entire salary and die of hunger when u knw u use it for survival or as if if you didn't give God won't bless you. Stop misquoting the Bible

engees001:

I never misquoted d bible,
is just dat dats is most likely used quotes by some pastors

Stelvin101:


Lolz. Ohh okay

lilmax:
The hustle is real

phemmylink:
Lengthy post.. but this issue caused rukus in my church today when I raised the fact the Jesus our role model as Christians did not pay first fruit nor tithe.. A cumbersome and controversial topic.. one have to be careful when you are grazing the surface.. and ask the Holy spirit to give one better understanding.. am not saying it is wrong neither am I saying otherwise

Stelvin101:

Lolz. Ohh okay

Stelvin101:

Lolz. Ohh okay

Stelvin101:

Lolz. Ohh okay

tebirim:
i seriously think u r 1 of d nany gullible pple in dis countryIs that how your pastor rob? Many are called but few are chosen...my pastor is not a robber like yours...sorry you better change Church. Stingy and greedy people keep complaining. Giving is biblical both tithe and offering. Even 1st fruit too is biblical.bring all thy substance into the store house, the store house can also be attributed to the Church, the needy and those in prison. You have your reasons why you don't wanna give and you accuse pastors so you can have enough reason not to pay your tithe and offering. Many persons have had strange encounter from just giving. You better learn to give today and remove that devilish heart that is telling you not to give because you want to know what your tithe is being used for after you have paid them.

dabriggs:
It is a shame. It really is. Like I said, No pastor born of the union between a man and woman can tell me otherwise about tithes and offerings.

If you think the reason to give is because you want a miracle or because you want God to bless you, please pay. All the tithes and offering we pay should be enough to make God intervene in our poverty and penury we live in. As a matter of fact it would seem that the more the churches we have in Nigeria, the poorer the people are becoming and the worse the country is becoming. Also the more people commit evil IN THE NAME OF GOD.

Even if the bible clearly stated that people should not pay tithes, Nigerians in particular and Humans in general will still pay to someone. Because I see no where the early Christians or Christ and his follower put on white garments, went about barefooted, bowed to Mary in obeisance or in honor of her, prayed through any saint, demand for tithes, or went about disturbing the neighborhood.

LIKE I SAID, NO PASTOR, NON ALIVE NOW AND NON TO COME IN FUTURE will do all this abracadabra to me. You wont touch me and I fall and you wont see my tithe or first fruit. It is a handsome sum, but it is not meant for you! Those that are in real need will get their needs met as best as I can. You can never sow fear in me about canker worms, because I wonder why the canker worms do not attack Bill Gates and Dangote and the majority of people in Europe, America or Asia who do not believe. As a mater of fact they have a better standard of living than practically every Nigerian. You cannot sow fear about my Uncle being a wizard or my Aunt being a witch or that evil arrows are flying around me. You cannot tell me to bring a white handkerchief to church or buy a special oil. You cannot tell me that I need to pray against any flying arrows from my colleague at work, because another pastor will tell me that what he sees is a python coming to swallow me, while yet another will say it is an ancestral alter or shrine. And then I ask are all these men getting all these varying messages from the same GOD?! Really? So na only me waka come wey God dey give una conflicting messages?

Religion, cults, sects and other such groups have come to stay. They will forever be part of human existence. But as long as you do not try to shove your fantasy down my throat, then I have no problem with you at all. After all we celebrate Xmas even when we know Christ was not born on the 25th of December. So there are many more things we do just because it is generally acceptable to do so regardless of whether it is right or wrong.