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Matthew 7:15, 16 “Beware of
false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly
Focusing on the above scriptures we
can plainly see that false prophets and teachers exist, and
1)
Those who willingly and secretly bring in destructive heresies in order to
refocus my brothers
These Pimping Preachers employ “False Doctrine” which
manifest’s itself as twisted man made doctrine that is usually taken out
of context to coerce the flock to give more money for a ministry. Brothers and Sisters you can see what we have in the pulpit! These are not preachers but pimps, if you study the nature of a pimp, you can then understand the nature of these false preachers. A pimp is a weak, emaciated effeminate man (weak girly man) who, because of his own weak and perverted nature, has refused to be productive on his own. He has no work ethic, he lives as a parasite and leaches off of women and men who see themselves as rejected, lonely and unable to function as whole people in society. Their assurance of his approval is directly linked to their ability to give him more money. They work themselves to death in order to bring him material possessions, presenting those things to him as their god. (Where the seed becomes mammon)
The media has already exposed several of
these fake “faith healers” and those who use fake “words of knowledge” or
“prophecy” in order to extort money from people. These types of false prophets are fairly easy to recognize with consistent reading of Gods word, but it becomes more difficult to discern the Pimping Preachers in the pulpit as he uses deception to lubricate the mindset of an unlearned flock. This lubrication which is a mixture of truth and lie is so subtle that the baby Christian falls into a trap and fails to recognize the deception. As a result, they begin to follow the blind, which leads to what some like to call a “Misplaced Loyalty Syndrome.” In this abusive system fear laced with deception becomes the primary lubricant to control the flock. Scare tactics and physiological manipulation involving the misuse of Malachi 3:8-11 and 1Corinthians 16:1-2 which is usually taken out of context telling Christian that they are under a curse if they don’t tithe and that all the money goes to the so call “Storehouse” which they say is the “Church” becomes one of the deceptions of choice to control the flock. The “Church” is not the “Storehouse” spoken of in Malachi! One who reads Gods word can plainly understand this truth. The pimping preacher doesn’t want you to read the truth so he fails to guide you the obvious context of the scripture. This is in order to maintain control and limit your personal discernment; his objective is to hinder and suppress a Berean mentality, which we are encouraged to possess and utilize in the word of God! His control has to be constantly maintained in order for him to fleece the flock effectively. So he employs willfully ignorant leaders in the church “The Click” to challenge any member who questions or challenges his prosperity doctrine or his authority. “The Click” is not limited to leaders only but also members who carry out enforcement of suppressing legitimate questions concerning false doctrine. These are the yes men and women that insulate him and protect him from his flock. This click labels anyone and everyone as unspiritual or as having a rebellious spirit, especially those who question and challenge unbiblical doctrine. The members of the “Click” are usually deceived members themselves, who have been hand picked and placed in positions of authority by the Pimp and not God. These members are usually what the world calls “Holier than thou” because of their hypocritical attitudes. They are so proud of their position in the church and glorify in the fact that they receive the praises of men. The word of God says they have already received there reward. They continually seek approval from a blind guide whose main objective is to silence the flock through fear and intimidation. A common way this is accomplished is by setting up an institutionalized church system where disloyalty to or disagreement with the pastor or leaders is portrayed as the same as disobeying God. Questioning the pastor on doctrinal statements becomes equal to questioning God. After all, the Pastor is the authority, and authority is always right. WRONG! This type of mentality causes people to misplace their loyalty in a leader or church organization. The Loyalty should be to the Word of God! There is no hierarchy in the body of Christ, every one has a function, the pastor has a function, the deacon has a function, the elders as a whole has a function, the usher has a function, the choir members have a function. Everyone is hopefully anointed for their function! One member in the body of Christ is not more important than another. They all have a function. Romans 12:3-6 says, “ For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to grace that is given to us……. Far too many children of God have this BLIND loyalty for their church and pastor. Though some glorify this it is dangerous and foolish. Please do not misunderstand me! I believe people should be loyal to their pastor, but no more loyal than he is loyal to you and to God. Too many Christians are willing to LOOK THE OTHER WAY because they just LUUUV their pastor, If the truth be told, many love the way he doesn’t preach about their sinful life; they love the way he doesn’t preach about fornication and homosexuality; they love the fact that he doesn’t expose their lack of sexual morality and carnality because they enjoy the doctrine of self- gratification and just like a battered wife that protects the abusive husband, the deceived baby Christian protect their pastors who are void of truth. They feel he loves them but he is really using them. It’s all about the pimp keeping his control.
You are an immature believer if you do this! This is
NOT
loyalty, it is sin. Loyalty is being steadfast and patient
with your pastor through the hard and difficult times and when he makes
mistakes, but it is NOT covering up for him! If he is wrong and
unrepentant, you need to confront him and his “Click” or leave that
church. It is wrong and sinful to condone anyone’s sins that include your
pastor. Some believe in their pastors so much that they really don’t care
what he does with money. But what if he’s a pimping preacher? What does
that say about our level of maturity in stewardship? I often wonder why we Christian seem so susceptible to the tricks of these pimping preachers. Why do we seem to get played on such an extensive magnitude? I think part of the reason is because we Christians are told over and over again that we must love and love is willing to overlook faults. However, Love that is structured without truth is sentimentalism and can be manipulated. We should not confuse love with emotionalism. Love is a commitment to truth and the highest good of others. Sometimes that means bringing a brother back to the truth. James 5:19,20 states, “ Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. Another reason we fall prey is call “Communal Reinforcement” this is when “church folk” believe in someone or something so strong that even biblical evidence to the contrary is discounted and dismissed, a church where believers with a Berean mentality often become ostracized by the church despite having a legitimate; reasonable and objective points of view. A church where if you speak about a problem out loud, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! And in some way you must be silenced or eliminated because you now have a “SPIRIT OF REBELLION” The fearful Christian keep his or her reservations to themselves, As a result, creating and enhancing a “spiral of silence” within the church which helps the pimping preacher’s agenda of manipulating the flock. This silence becomes a fortress wall of protection, shielding the pimps’ power position from scrutiny or challenge. This abuse of fear is implemented because the pimp knows that a person is less likely to voice an opinion on false doctrine if he feels he or she is the only one that feels that way, as a result, fear of reprisal or isolation becomes more real to the person. But one of the most profound reason we are deceived is because most Christian fail to test the spirit, they fail to read, study and research the word of God for themselves to see if what is preach is true. John 4:1 states, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (testing or proving that it is correct) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The word of God is very clear that we should study for ourselves! 2Timothy 2:15, “Study to show thyself approved unto GOD, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of TRUTH.” We must remember that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets! Pimping Preachers also appeal to the fleshly carnal nature of man; with promises of wealth and prosperity; not spiritual prosperity but material (tangible) prosperity. Under this system, sowing a seed and Tithing becomes a prerequisite for blessings. Unfortunately, when the Christian fails to give money, he or she is soon jolted into a counterfeit reality that they are Robbing God. They are then looked down upon as unspiritual and under a curse and not allowed certain leadership roles within the church. Favoritism becomes evident in the church because Pimping Preachers would not dare preach against those who provide his livelihood. These Pimps are not concerned with the spiritual well-being of the flock, so preaching repentance is not a primary objective. Instead, planting a seed and tithing prosperity doctrine are preached constantly where a “SEED” becomes “Money or Mammon” instead of the “Word of God” and Tithing becomes a “Mandatory Obligation” on Christians instead of freewill “Gift” from the Heart motivated by Love of Christ. Believe me saints Jesus is not sitting in heaven with a calculator counting how much you put in a collection plate. He is more concern with our hearts being changed. When these pimps hijack and redefine “A Seed” which is the “Word of God” to mean MONEY sown into their ministry; what they are doing is preaching another gospel and another god, “they are preaching the god of mammon.” Can man recreate God? The Bible says that Jesus is the word of God! Rev. 19:13, And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” Jesus is the Word of God! “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1) When these pimps use their twisted doctrine of canal seeding with promises of hundredfold blessings it cannot produce the characteristics of Christ in the human heart because it contains no life. Their seed (mammon) or (Money) has no life but Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10) He said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63.) Christ reproduces Himself in our hearts through the life of His word! We cannot possibly reproduce His nature by external obedience to religious precepts and principles. All that He is and all that He has for us is imprinted in this sacred seed. When this potential is released, we begin then to understand the meaning of the words, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) His love, His faith, His courage, His wisdom, His righteousness are all in the seed. THE “SEED” IS THE “WORD OF GOD” which is “JESUS!” So these Pimps are teaching another God! The god mammon is what they bow to. What’s so amazing to me is that we have leaders in the church who don’t understand that false doctrine is false doctrine no matter what venue or tradition of man it comes from. Some of our leaders exhibit hypocritical attitudes when it comes to money. To preach against false doctrine of other denominations while Accepting and embracing a false doctrine when it benefits the church you lead is hypocritical. Doing that which is Evil, to bring about good is sin. You say to yourself, “If I don’t teach tithing the church want exits” I say to that Trust God and tell the truth! The Church is not a building anyway. I have met preachers who preach against the word of faith prosperity doctrine but say Tithing is somehow different. They preach about how a Seed is the Word of God and not Money; which I agree with but these same preachers refuse to acknowledge the deceptive nature of mandatory tithing. What they don’t understand is that preaching against the prosperity doctrine while upholding tithing is like trying to kill flies in the house while the door is wide open; or better yet; killing flies while maggots are in the trash. Take out the trash and close the door! Then you can kill the flies of false doctrine more effectively! What they don’t understand is that mandatory tithing is the father of this contemporary prosperity message and has elements of Humanistic pragmatism also. You will not find a Word of Faith preacher or any prosperity preachers preaching that tithing as we practice in the contemporary church is unbiblical. Why? Because he understands that tithing is his foundation. The point that I am trying to make is this: the question being asked in the prosperity doctrine and tithing are pragmatic. The question we seem to be asking is “does it work”? Rather than the fundamental theological questions of “Is it true?” and where does it come from? There is a “give to get” mentality associated not only in the prosperity message but also in tithing. Those who tithe often tithe because they want to be blessed with more material wealth or simply keep what they already have because they are taught that the devourer of Malachi will come to take it away. We’ve all heard the preacher say that if you don’t pay your tithes the devour will come and make your car break down or something negative will happen to take more money out of your pocket. This unbiblical teaching which we will discuss later in detail has been taken out of Old Covenant context and is more common than we think. It’s amazing to me how we hear so many testimonies on how God has blessed with new homes and cars because of sowing money as a seed or 10% to God. What’s more amazing is that with the large number of foreclosures in recent years I have yet to here anyone give a testimony of how they have lost their home because they could not afford it in the first place; Or how their car was repossessed because they could not pay the note. Of course we blame this on the devil. As if we had nothing to do with buying a 200,000 house while making 23,000 a year. We need to be real careful of greed because our lives are not defined by; or consist of only material things in this world. Jesus told his disciples in Luke 12:15, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Also Paul says in 1Timothy. “6: 6-10, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” These Pimps say that since we are Christians we should not be denied material prosperity, since it is part of our redemptive rights. They advocate the pursuit of material blessings and even gauge our faith level by our material possessions. (The world gauges success by our material possessions as well!) In other words, these “Pimps” are saying that if you drive a hooptee, your faith is not as developed or pleasing to God as someone who drives a Cadillac.
Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures is the material which is temporal elevated
in importance over that which is spiritual! Man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. Instead of trying to gain
riches souls are to be our goal! That’s why we sow the “True Seed” which
is the “Word of God”. As “soldiers” in God’s army, we should be willing to
suffer lack, be persecuted and even die for this cause, as Stephen did
(Acts 7:59, 60). Paul said, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake
of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ
Jesus, with eternal glory,” 2 Tim. 2:10. “I have become all things to all
men so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22b). “For
I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be
saved” (1Cor. 10:33b). This was the goal and purpose of a brother God
used to write half of the New Testament books! Shouldn’t this also be our
goal and purpose in this life also? We all can see that there is a major
difference between the Prosperity teachers of our day and Paul who taught,
“If we have food and clothing we [Christians] will be content with
that.”(I’ve never heard a Prosperity teacher preach a sermon from that
verse! Characteristics of the Pimping Preacher NOTE: Covetousness will always be one of the characteristics of the Pimping Preacher.
THEIR APPEARANCE: Jesse Morrell states it this way, “Most of us say to ourselves, “Oh I’m not really too worried about a false prophet. Because I know that I would recognize them when I see them” you don’t know the nature of deception! Recognizing false teachers is not easily done, considering that they have the appearance of being sheep. The mission of a deceiver is to deceive! Deceivers will not always appear deceptive, or else they would never be able to deceive anyone. Their lies will always be disguised as truth. Beware because their charm will be enticing and their glamour blinding for those who refuse to be discerning.” Have you ever notice that the neighbors of caught serial killers always say the same thing, “I just can’t believe that he could commit such a horrible act! I knew him personally; he was such a nice guy.” Likewise when a nice, friendly, commercial smiley preacher teaches doctrines which is contrary to the Word of God, his followers defend him by saying, “Oh but he’s just so sincere and genuine.” Be careful children of God! Appearance can be quite deceiving. Never judge a book by its cover and never judge a man by his outward appearance. (John 7:24). He may look like a fellow believer outwardly, but inwardly he is a wolf who is out for himself and not for the flock. Often they will look better and more successful than everyone else, portraying the image that everyone would want to be like. Their grass may look greener and their water clearer, but they are poisoned with lies and seasoned with deceit.” These Pimps have their mind on the things of this world, not on things of heaven where Christ is seated. They want to be judged by outward appearance and they themselves judge people according to their outward religious observances. We need to be real careful with religious standards that tell us what enough is. 10% is enough; not having enough faith; not serving enough or well enough; not attending enough meetings or not spending enough. We must understand that only God can determine what enough is. Only fool’s compare themselves with others, establish you priorities of “enough” with God not Man. Their Message “For
they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying,
Peace, Peace! When there is no peace” (Jer. 8: Eze 13:16) Jeremiah’s message and the message of the other prophets stood in sharp contrast. As Jeremiah shouted his message of “violence and plunder” for Israel if they didn’t repent and turn back to God, the other prophets came with a message of peace and prosperity for the wicked and backslidden nation. They became very popular. They gave false hope and false peace…..They made those who were in terrible danger of hell feel as though they were in secure safety on a cruise ship to Heaven. The refreshment which they gave was a delusion and the comfort they gave is imaginary. They prophesied lies and deceit to sooth those who are on their way to eternal destruction. In David Kirkwood’s book called “The Great Gospel Deception” he wrote, “Of course, no teacher in the church is going to stand up and declare that what he is teaching is contrary to the New Testament. Rather, he will neglect certain important scriptures and twist other to persuade his constituency that he is teaching the truth.” This is especially done with teaching of Mandatory Tithing and the Prosperity Doctrine of “Seed Sowing” The deceptive part is that they will appear to be preaching Grace, but it’s another Grace. They appear to be preaching the Gospel, but it’s another gospel. They appear to be preaching Christ, but it’s another Christ. The subtlety is so deceptive that few are able to make the distinction. A SEED IS THE WORD OF GOD! A great preacher once said “heresy is highly exalting one biblical truth over the rest, so that other biblical truths become neglected. “False teachers speak only of blessing, prosperity, and the favor of God but will not touch on Gods righteous wrath or His holy indignation. They promise an easy life, but Christ promises a crucified life. They serve the flesh as opposed to serving the Spirit. They appeal to the greedy hearts of men as opposed to the conscience. The days in which Paul warned about are devastatingly upon us, though few seem to recognize it. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” So rather then preaching life eternal, many are preaching life enhancement. Rather then preaching deliverance from sin and hell, they preach deliverance from suffering and hurt. Ray Comfort wrote “The modern gospel has degenerated into means of happiness, rather than on righteousness.”
Their Motive: A false teacher has an eye on people’s bank accounts while a true preacher has his eyes on eternity. False teachers may have the appearance of loving people, yet they are truly only concerned about themselves to further and enhance their own processions and careers. They feed themselves when they need to be feeding the flocks. They skin the sheep alive to clothe themselves, leaving the sheep beaten, battered, and bloody to die. Paul was “poor yet making many rich” (2 Cor 6:10) while these men are rich by making many poor! With their manipulating words and twisting of scriptures they ransack and plunder the pockets of unsuspecting people to line their own pockets. A true preacher speaks for God while a false preacher speaks for himself. “There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have make her many widows in the midst thereof.” (Ezekiel 22:25). The ingredients that make up their ministries are: Greed, covetousness, jealousy, lies, and selfishness. Because they are self seeking and self serving, their followers are the same way. I think Jeremiah said it best, Jeremiah 5: 26-28 states, “For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. We can see this behavior still exits today with those in the Word of Faith and charismatic movement! These Pimps waxen rich and prosper while they could care less about the needy. Jeremiah goes on in verse 30 stating, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? Jesus opposed and warned about pimping preachers or false teachers during his ministry “Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:6-12) Jesus wasn’t talking about a group that didn’t exist. He spoke of the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were in the best Known religion of that day, Judaism (Romans 3:1-2;4:22) Jesus said they were lovers of money, hypocrites, serpents, generation of vipers, children of hell, whitewash toms, and blind guides. There are new covenants Pharisees who resemble those of Jesus time period. They aspire to have large churches and measure their success in terms of numbers. In their mind, the larger the church becomes the more successful their ministry. These men and women live like kings and queens while spending your money to buy mansions and jets for themselves. They dine in the finest restaurants, wear the latest designer fashions and then have the audacity to tell you that you can live the same way as long as you sow a seed or tithe into their ministry. They say they are the new Levites. PIMPS! How can you be a Levite when you were born in GRADY Hospital? The word of God says the Levites could not own land, does your pastor own a house? Ask why when the Law of Moses states he can’t if his Levite because they had no inheritance. The tithe was given to them because they had no inheritance! How in the world can this pimps claim the tithe as their inheritance when they are Gentiles. I mentioned earlier that those teaching tithing as a New Covenant law or principle are actually the very ones who are “Robbing” God. They quote 1Corinthians 12:8-12 to boast about the “gifts of men” which is used to prove supernatural gifts. But Unfortunately, they gets amnesia when it comes to another list of gifts which is “gifts to men” which mentions the “Gift of Giving” which is equally needful and equally new Testament. Roman.12:8 which states, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: If prophesy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who Gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” What we must understand is that the Holy Spirit divides the gifts as He wills; then different members of the body do different things and is equipped differently to carry out their ministry. What that means is that the whole idea of everyone being mandated to give 10% can’t be correct because the Word of God never, I repeat never places a demand of 10% on Christian giving. The implementation of a legalistic 10% is taught because these pimping preachers want your money! Yea, that’s right I said it and I want compromise the word of God for acceptability into a worldly system. Don’t miss understand me, there are preachers who teach sowing of money and mandatory tithing as a law or principle who have no ulterior motive and who are sincere and convinced of its validity. Their main problem is that they don’t study for themselves. Unfortunately, many preachers don’t learn their doctrine from personal study. They learn it from hearing other preachers or teachers. They will never know the truth if they don’t study for themselves. Sincerity in the matter of doctrine is no substitute for knowledge. The bible tell us to study and to show yourself approve by God; RIGHTLY dividing the word of God. However, this is not just stated for the benefit of the preacher but for every child of God.
Throughout the entire age of the church, Pimping Preachers have attempted
to incorporate elements of the Mosaic Law into the Christian faith, such
as tithing and circumcision, which the Judiasers attempted to impose in
the time of the Apostle Paul. Today, there are many who believe that
tithing is a mandatory requirement under the New Covenant, and seek to
mandate it in the Churches that they lead. The word of God tell Christians
that we should give of our time, money and spiritual gifts as WE determine
in our OWN heart, and not be coerced into giving a set percentage of our
income net or gross. 2Corinthians 9:7 states “So
let each one GIVE as he purposes in his
heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God
loves a cheerful giver.” In
other words, the ordinance of tithing was abolished at the cross of
Calvary with all the rest of the Jewish Law. That’s why
Galatians 3:13 states, “Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it
is written, CURSED IS EVERY ONE THAT HANGETH ON A
TREE: 
In today’s Christian churches
the terms tithing and giving seems to be used synonymously…If you ask
most Christians do they give. They would tell you yes,” I tithe to the
church”. This contemporary definition of a tithe is defined as the
practice of giving one tenth (a tithe) of ones income (net or gross)
to a church organization based upon the understanding that this
is a biblical teaching applicable to Christians? Most Christians don’t understand that this is an unbiblical definition. And is nowhere in the word of God made obligatory on Christians, those of us who are saved by Grace! The biblical definition of the Tithe is 10% of the increase, established in Leviticus 27:30-33 as an offering Holy to the Lord. The scripture identifies the tithe as grain and fruit, herd and flock that the Nation of Israel was obligated to pay to Levite priesthood. This However does not apply to Christians. By preaching the “Curse of Malachi” pimping preacher enable deceived babes in Christ to treat Godly Chastisement and Discipline as a curse rather than Godly correction and protection. They insinuate that problems of life can be corrected by works not understanding that perceived yokes are not always hindrances but protection from God! I know that a lot of us can testify that at certain times in our lives if God had blessed us financially we would have gone buck wild in sin. God doesn’t always rescue us from trouble but sometimes while we are in trouble, he melts us down so that he can mold us to carry out his will and not our own. Hebrews 12:11 states, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Instead of preaching a give to get theology they should preach Repentance for one’s iniquity with the understanding that it is impossible to receive GRACE without repentance of the heart. True surrender involves Godly sorrow. 2Corinthians 6:1states, “we then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. Paul tells us here in the scripture references quoted above, “receive not the grace of God in vain.” To receive God’s Grace in a manner that would be considered “VAIN”, would be to accept the gift but place no true value upon it or add to it as if it wasn’t sufficient or to treat the gift as if it were of no importance at all, having no significance, no effect, or no purpose. Now we know the grace of God is the gift of Salvation Through Jesus Christ our Lord as it is written: “For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE Gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Eph 2:8-9 So we see from this scripture that Grace (favor) is not dependent on works! But true works come from a thankful heart appreciative of Grace, which is recognized through the impartation of salvation; In other words, our works are a result or a by-product of the redeeming power of the Son. We love him because he first loved us.
Here in Atlanta; we have an environment where churches have
become big business, where the preacher is not serving but being served.
In this city most have become hero-worshipers where we seek celebrity
preachers who we label as heroes of the faith who we give total allegiance
to and follow like they were Jesus himself! And just like the Corinthians
who said we are of Paul or Apollo’s. We Christians follow the crowd also
believing that only these “gospel stars” carry the “anointing” And if you
want to be blessed you’ve got to come to their church and sow a seed.
Where Charismatic teachers invoke emotional highs and the people become
addicted to the adrenalin of emotionalism which manifests itself as an
altered state of consciousness enabling the pimping preacher to deceive
without contradiction or intervention. Where strong tithing congregations
often become very wealthy congregations with much money to spend on
various projects and with the preachers enjoying an affluent lifestyle,
even while many within that same congregation might live in a financially
distressed world. As a result, these so call Anointed preachers own jets and expensive cars paid for not with their own money but contribution and tithes and so called seed money that is laid at the feet of the pimp all coming from an emotional frenzied flock. What a far cry from what the Apostle Paul taught when he prefaced his teaching on “sowing and reaping” with these words; “For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: 2Corinthians 8:13,14) Will someone please tell me why we sit back and do nothing about this fleecing of the flock! Here we see Paul is talking about sharing among the Christians if one group of them is in need, then others who are better off should help. Also remember the book of Acts clearly gives us an example which shows Christians within a congregation sharing their substance so that none should suffer lack. Why do we ignore this clear New Testament example, while being quick to seize on Old Testament example of tithing which finds no New Testament support? Even in the context of the Mosaic Law the tithe was always to help the less fortunate. It was for the support of the Levites who had no inheritance, the poor, the widow and the stranger. Ask yourself one question, do you see the tithe in your church uplifting the community and helping the have-nots or do you see tithing used to support the building and preacher with a lifestyle of expensive cars and homes; whose main objective is to have a Hugh church while the poor, the widow, the fatherless and the stranger are simply forgotten. Paul warned us about these pimping preachers, Paul said to the church in Acts 20:29-30 that once he departed grievous wolves would enter in among the saints, not sparing the flock. Also, of yourselves shall arise men who shall speak perverse things.”
Paul identifies two types of wolves:
Those from out and those from within.
The only way you can know who these wolves are is
through a right division of the Word of God and by comparing their
behavior and doctrine by the Word of God. A wrong division of God’s Word
is NOT God’s Word. I don’t speak this way to bring more division in the
church. But it grieves
my spirit I can not think of a single minister of God in the New Testament that got along with the world. Most of them ended up being martyred. Those who get along with the world must not be getting along with the God who the world has rejected. A false teacher will be allowed to preach even on the vilest of TV channels. You can expect to find their books even in secular stores and hear their messages of “How to never be hurt again” and “Walking in the anointing of wealth” on secular channels. The bottom line is this; I am not ashamed of being radical! I am not concern if they speak well of me! I refuse to be silenced like the 501C3 jelly belly government churches who have sold their right to speak out against wrong! These Institutionalized churches are simply selling out! They feel the church will become more credible if they get involved with a worldly system. The Church has always been tax exempt! So why are so many churches adding their church to the list. Simply! In other words, they have taken the church and put it to bed with the world system. The world has always been the field. Here they can rake in the funds in the form of unscriptural tithes and coerced offerings and whatever they collect is considered as tax exempt donations. In order to stay within Uncle Sam’s graces and keep his tax-free money, he cannot speak above the conscience of the community. A large number of church pastors are in bed with the government in exchange for the almighty dollar. If Satan himself ran for office, most could not advise the people who or who not to vote for. Are these really the types of people we should choose to lead us to the “Promised Land?” Matthew 22:17-21
17 “Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it
lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” God’s word stand firm on his children obeying government rules and regulations. Including paying taxes! After reading this passage it should be clear to you that it speaks for itself. Any pastor with a church that is operating under 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt status is guilty. And we foolishly continue to follow these poor examples of Christians whose favorite line is “the Lord loves a cheerful giver!” However, when we look at our communities where is the fruit of the “black church?” When we step outside of those supposed God Kissed “black” institutions of cut glass and marble floors ALL we see is poverty, neglect, drug abuse, and fatherless homes. What is even worse is the fact that most of the church members partake of sin freely and live in poverty themselves. Something must be wrong with the message from preachers? If they were hearing from God wouldn’t they have a relevant message that would change our community? When we look at their message all we find are constant appeals for money in order to help them build the preachers dream church. As a result, we see church building on every corner in the black community with most refusing to even fellowshipping with each other. This is not what Christ died for! Their messages will manipulate Scriptures to mean the exact opposite of what it was originally for. “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Gal 6:7) is often used when a preacher is begging for money. However in context this particular scripture has nothing to do with money but everything to do with death and life. The following verse says, “For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”(Gal 6:8) Whatever happened to freely giving and expecting nothing back? Pimping Preachers will teach “give and expect your blessing back!” Giving to get is greedy giving. How many of these Pimping Prosperity Preachers can say with the Apostle Paul, “To the present hour we both hunger and thirst and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless”? (1 Cor 4:11) These Pimps want to fleece the flock and control the Berean mentality of the saints. Here is a clear warning to stay away from such men. 1Timothey 6:5-11 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. 6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these things be content. 9 but those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Also in Romans 16:17, 18 it states, “Now I beseech you, brethren, Mark them which cause divisions and offences Contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Here Paul tells us to take notice of or “Mark” those who teach and preach false doctrine, which is contrary to the doctrine of Christ. He goes on to tell us that they serve their own bellies or their own agenda and not Gods. We are also told who is being deceived “The hearts of the simple” that’s why it’s so important for us to study and become convinced that we are following sound doctrine. Believe me children of God, just because a person goes to church on a regular basis or has been appointed by your pastor as a leader doesn’t necessarily mean they are growing in the word of God. You are to study for YOURSELF! Be careful when folk tell you, “GOD TOLD ME TO TELL YOU” a lot of the time people simply lie on God. I am not at all convinced that tithing is a New Testament principle. But believe that it was an old testament requirement which was mandated by Mosaic law, but even then I would point out a passages that the modern day pimping preachers of tithing don’t ever point out: Note: Who received the tithe Deut. 26: 12-13……” to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the window”. The tithe was obviously not used to build lovely big buildings and to support big name preachers and ministries. But it was for the support of the have-nots; the poor, the stranger, the widow, the fatherless, the motherless, the discouraged, the beat down, the mother who is raising 3 kids with no child support, the widow without the 401k or pension plan, the father working 3 jobs and can’t afford health insurance for his children; The preacher or teacher who truly loves the church and makes personal sacrifices in order to serve the church and teach the true word of God. These are the saints who pay this unbiblical tithe and continue to be faithful to their work in the church. These are the servants of God who get no recognition; no shared wealth of the church and no double honor (respect); just told they are under some curse because they are robbing God when they don’t pay. Jesus states in Matthew how we are to give to him. Please Listen to Jesus! 25:35-40 “ For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: In Prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? Or naked, and clothed thee: Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee: And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Read carefully! Hungry? Thirsty? Naked? Sick and in Prison? Stranger? Here we see how we give to Christ, we as a “nation of priest’ have a right to share in what is given also. 1 Peter 2:9 states, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” Revelations 1:6 “And hath make us kings and priests (a Kingdom of Priest) unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” It’s amazing how simplistic God words can be. We understand from the above scriptures that all believers are IN Jesus Christ who is our High Priest forever and as such all believers are priests, sons, and the temple of the Holy Spirit and this is the basis and reason for every believer sharing in the gifts or (collective wealth) of the Church. Following the train of thought that ALL Priests are to share in what is given, and backing it up with the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40 wherein He makes it clear that giving to His “brothers” (all believers) is the same as giving to Christ directly, we need to assess who is really being robbed when ministers quote Malachi 3:8-9 to their congregations of believers? We must understand that the Levitical priesthood, which temporarily received tithes, has been replaced by the priesthood of every believer which does not require tithes in place of an inheritance. There is no biblical basis for concluding that the pastor-teacher is the inheritor of tithes and sustenance promised to the Levitical priesthood. The pastor-teacher is a unique new covenant function created to operate under gospel principles of grace and faith (1Cor. 9:14). No new covenant principle states that pastor/ teachers are to be sustained by old covenant tithes. Every function performed by the Old Covenant priest who received tithes is NOW intended to be performed by every believer-priest. Our High Priest is Jesus. We need to remember the purpose and motivation for our giving which is CHRIST! We love him because he first loved us! When selfish pimps in the pulpit refuse to preach the truth, how can they claim to love their brother or Christ? In this discussion paper we will review the definition, history, purpose, arguments for, and arguments against tithing. Also, we will sift through much of the false doctrine and deception on the subject and determine what the New Testament actually teaches about giving. I also must state that nothing in the paper is intended as an excuse not to give generously and cheerfully as the Holy Sprit directs. We will examine how Christians are told to GIVE. But first let us start with the first mention of tithing in the bible ABRAHAMS TITHE The first mention of a tithe is mentioned in Genesis 14:20 “And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him tithe of all. This is a favorite passage used by tithing teachers to prove that tithing was required by God long before he gave the Law to Moses. A common belief about what the Bible says is that Abraham, the father of the faithful, paid his tithes to Melchizedek on the basis of some eternal and universal law of tithing which was then in force and codified when the nation of Israel was established. The first questioned that needs to be asked is where in the word of God does a universal unwritten standard exist before Moses, not only this but where does the re-codification become applicable to those under Grace? THE ANSWER is NOWHERE! While it is true that Abraham GAVE not paid a tithe (10%) to Melchizedec of the booty (spoils of war) he had captured while rescuing his nephew Lot. That sum was a tribute to God for having delivered the enemy into his hands. Abraham GAVE an amount HE decided; nothing was requested or demanded of him. We must also understand that the word “tithe” is being used as an adjective describing the ALL or the amount of “spoils of war” given to Melchizedec. If we look carefully at Genesis 14:20 you will not see the Definite Article “the” which is used to restrict the meaning of a noun to make it refer to something that is known by both the speaker or writer and the listener or reader.” In Genesis it states, “And he gave him tithe of all.” On the other hand, look at Lev 27:30,”And all THE tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD.” We can see the Definite article “THE” which indicates a specific or precise thing. Abraham gave nothing of his vast wealth that God had blessed him with before or after the rescue of Lot. To suggest that the “tithe” of Abraham and Moses were simulative is flawed reasoning. The “ALL” mention in Genesis 14:20 is referring to the spoils of war and not Abrahams abundant wealth he obtained before or after he rescued Lot. Important Note: The practice of “Tithing” existed even before Abraham! Tithing existed in pagan nations. The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible says, “A 10th part of one’s income consecrated to God. The separation of a certain proportion of the products of one’s industry or of the spoils of war as tribute to their gods was practiced by various nations of antiquity. The Lydians offered a tithe of their booty (Herod. 1, 89) The Phoenicians and Carthaginians sent a tithe annually to the Tyrian Hercules. These tithes might be regular or occasional, voluntary of prescribed by law.” The Harper’s Bible Dictionary (Paul J. Aachtemier, San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985) states, “That Tithing was very common throughout the ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamia where Neo-Babylonian texts from the sixth century B.C. discuss the collection of tithes as a means of supporting a sanctuary. Other documents indicate that tithing could serve nonsacral purposes as well. Fourteenth-century B.C. tablets from Ugarit portray the tithe as a royal tax the king collected and distributed to his officials. The Seleucid kings of Syria likewise viewed the tithe as a source for royal income whereas Jews at that time viewed it as a sacral tax.” The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Douglas, Hillyer, Bruce, et al (editors), [UVP:1988]), which is popular three-volume Bible dictionary, makes this introductory comment: “ For Abraham, the principle of the tithe was not something new; in his Babylonian custom of tithing did not originate with the Mosaic law (Gn. 14:17-20), nor was it peculiar to the Hebrews. It was practiced among other ancient peoples” (TITHES, p 1572). Abram, who was familiar with these ancient practices common in Ur, Haran, and amongst the Canaanites, gave, as a freewill offering of thankgiving, a tenth of the spoils of war ; a thank offering of tithe for the very likely miraculous deliverance of all and for the retrieval of the stolen goods. Perhaps an additional reason for the offering was that it was made to a king-priest, Melchizedek who was a Type of Jesus, not Jesus himself but a type. Nevertheless, it was VOLUNTARY. Preachers who use this argument disregard some serious facts when it comes to Abram gift of 10% First observation: The often repeated word, “before,” gives the wrong conclusion that none of the pre-Hebrew cultures who practiced tithing did so because of pre-existing laws or customs. This is simply not true; in reality, PAGAN tithing laws and customs controlled and mandated its practice-including that of Abram in Genesis 14. The tithing teachers implied “principle of interpretation, or “hermeneutic,” is: If something is very ancient and found in many early cultures, this is evidence of the fact that such action is part of the basic moral naute of man and is part of the enduring moral law of God. If true, then, this “principle” would also include, along with tithing---idolatry, worship of the heaven, nature, and animals, child sacrifice, temple prostitution, and numerous very early and very common practices. And what about animal sacrifices, Abraham offered animal sacrifices before and apart from the Law (Gen 12:8,22:7) do these teachers today advocate we offer these? Of course not, and what about the issue of Abram’s concubines do we have a right to have concubines. You can see how silly these pimps can be, all in the name of the almighty dollar. In all sixty six New Testament references to Abraham, the only practice of his we are told to follow is having FAITH. (Rom 4:11 & Gal 3:6-10). Second observation: The serious flaw in this approach to Abraham’s tithe is that Genesis does not explicitly tell us the purpose of the tithe, nor its frequency. As far as we know, Abraham only did it once, from the spoils of a battle, and Melchizedek blessed him on that occasion. As to the purpose of the tithe, again Genesis tells us nothing explicitly. We can infer it was in response to Melchizedek’s ministry as a priest when he brought out bread and wine for Abraham and blessed him (Hebrews 7 confirms that by telling us that this tithe proved that Melchizedek’s priesthood is superior to that of Abraham’s son, Levi). Third observation: Some may still argue that we can infer a requirement to tithe from Hebrews 7:8 and we will look at that passage carefully, but the point remains, there are no more New Testament commandments to tithe based on Abraham’s example than there are to be physically circumcised, to offer animals as sacrifices, or to take concubines. “According to Hebrews 7:24 Jesus is the only member of the Melchizedek priesthood. There was a change in the law (Hebrews 7:12) but the reference—as admitted by all scholarly authorities—is to the priesthood being changed, not tithing being transferred to a New Testament Ministry! The example of Abraham giving tithes to an ancient Canaanite priest was cited to illustrate the awesome superiority of the Melchizedek priesthood over that of the Levitical priesthood. Indeed, the Letter to the Hebrews makes no suggestion that the New Testament IS the Melchizedek priesthood. There is only ONE priest who occupies that position and that is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:24)” “Biblical Research Institute” by Les Gosling, Rebbe Copyright BRI 1981, 1994 page 1, 2. Forth observation: When it comes to the early church “tithing” was clearly not practiced or looked upon as an eternal moral principle. If it was an eternal moral principle why would the New Catholic Encyclopedia confess that tithing was first forced on Christians by the Council of Macon’s decision in 585 C.E.? That’s almost a full total of 600 years AFTER THE DEATH, RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION of Our Lord! Listen please, to the voice of history. It says, “The early Church had no tithing system. The tithes of the Old Testament were regarded as abrogated by the law of Christ... But as the Church expanded and its material needs grew more numerous and complex, it became necessary to adopt a definite rule to which people could be held either by a sense of moral obligation or by a precept of positive law. The tithing of the Old Law [of Moses] provided an obvious model, and it began to be taught… The Council of Macon in 585 ordered payment of tithes and threatened excommunication to those who refused to comply” (New Catholic Encyclopedia Vol.XIV, pp.174, 175.) So we see that the implementation of the tithe started in the Roman Catholic Church with the threat of excommunication of those who refused. It is important to note that nowhere in the New Testament or Gentiles taught to tithe. The book “Should the Church Teach Tithing” (Russell Earl Kelly, PhD Writers club press [2001] comments on the Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, statement which an implied admission that tithing had not been a standard of giving since the first confession in 1644, the article continues, Many churches, in fact, were definitely opposed to what they considered a “hireling ministry” and paid their preachers (when they had them) Nothing! Preachers who were supported at all usually received food or farm products such as tobacco, or occasionally whiskey, which could be exchanged for money. Until the beginning of the 19th century, most Baptist ministers worked at secular jobs in addition to preaching.” Tithing slowly evolved among Southern Baptist. Their Encyclopedia recounts that a layman initiated a tithing position in the 1890’s and that it was proposed and rejected by the Convention in 1894. After World War I, “various promotional movements” were launched by several denominations to convince the laity to tithe. Although a strong campaign began among Southern Baptists in 1921, it failed to place tithing or tithing texts in the 1925 Faith and Message revision. Since the Convention has very aggressively promoted tithing again, beginning as far back as 1947, the 1963 Faith and Message “Therefore, instead of being an ETERNAL MORAL PRINCIPLE tithing had to very slowly revealed some progress in its evolution when it, for the first time, listed major tithing texts, but still did not include the word. TITHE. The Southern Baptist’s official statement of faith, The Baptist Faith and Message, is widely distributed for all to read. This document still does not contain the word Tithe! ISAACS TITHE The Scriptures are completely silent when it comes to Isaac paying a tithe although Isaac inherited the same convent as Abraham. It is never recorded that Isaac paid a tithe although Abraham tithe is considered the standard or a universal law by those who teach tithing. There is no scripture at all that Isaac gave any sum to God. Yet the covenant God made with Abraham was passed down to Isaac. But what about this universal standard the pimping preachers talk about why isn’t it recorded that Isaac followed this law! I mean wouldn’t Abraham teach his ONLY promised son this Universal Law. JACOBS TITHE The next time tithe/tenth is offered and seen in scripture is when Jacob obligates himself to God a tenth (Genesis 28:22) After Isaac had come to grips with Jacob having stolen his brother’s blessing , he sent him to Paddanaram to get a wife. While going Jacob slept over at Haran, at a certain place we later learn is Bethel. As he slept that night God appeared to him in a dream and confirmed his covenant; the covenant he had made with Abraham and Isaac-and now with him. That night God became more real to Jacob, and he realized that where he slept was sacred ground. He exclaimed, “The Lord was in that place and I knew it not.” As a result of his encounter with God that night and God having given him His covenant, Jacob rose up early, vowed a vow to God: 1.) If God would be with him and take care of him along the way, 2.) Provide him with food and raiment to put on, 3.) Allow him to get back to his father’s house in peace, then shall the Lord be his God. Second, during that vow he took a stone and set it as a pillar for the house of God, Promising that of all God shall give him, he will…….GIVE the tenth unto thee. Jacob voluntarily said he would give; voluntarily decided how much to give and of what portion of his wealth To vow is to make an independent commitment! God made no commitment on him; instead, he made a commitment on himself to God! My question to those who teach mandatory tithing would be why Jacob would vow to give God a tenth of something if God’s tithing law was universal and already required. Also, why would he make it conditional? “If………” The blessing he was about to receive did not depend on his giving ten percent, contrary to the pro tithers saying that God will bless you if you tithe. In fact, Jacob was in terror that his brother would kill him. He decided on ten percent because this was the size offering that family history associated with his grandfather Abraham, and he was trying to get the inheritance promised to Abraham. It was also the custom for people to try to make deals with God when confronted with a problem they couldn’t solve themselves. There is not a single word about Jacob ever being blessed because he tithed. The only basis for a belief that there are blessings for tithing is in Malachi which was written to the Nation of Israel and not Gentiles and not Genesis dealing with the patriarchs. Understanding this, what these pimping preachers are teaching the body of Christ is to submit themselves to the Old covenant Law. They do this because it suits them financially. When Preachers do this it really shows that their heart is motivated by greed instead of Truth. These are the only times in the Old Testament, before the Law, that tithes or a tenth to God is ever spoken of. The next mention of tithes is under the Law. And it is quite instructive to see how it was administered under the Law. How dare these Pimps use weak assumptions to validate a doctrine! The next time you here your pastor mention Jacobs tithe. Simply ask him who did Jacob tithe to and where did Jacob tithe? Was it to the Temple? No, there was no Temple or Storehouse. Did he tithe to the Levites? No there was no Levitical priesthood at this time. So the question becomes did Jacob tithe? We know Jacob Promise to tithe but did he? Remember Jacob had a history of having a deceiving mentality. He and his mother deceived his earthly Father for his brothers blessing. To base doctrine on Jacobs promise to tithe is just irresponsible.
THE CURSE OF MALICHI In Malachi we find some very interesting facts. If we look carefully at Malachi we find the word “tithe’ mentioned only once in Malachi 3:10; but Nehemiah uses the word, or refers to it seven times in three chapters (10:37; 38; 12:44, 47; 13:5, 10, 12). Therefore, tithing in Nehemiah should be the required study for the context of tithing. EZRA, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi cover 536 B.C. to about 400B.C. and should be read together. The seventy years of captivity had lasted from 606 to 536 B.C. Under Zerubbabel and prophet, Haggai, the temple had been rebuilt by 519 B.C. and under Nehemiah the wall of Jerusalem was finished in 445 B.C. When we read these scripture we must understand them in their historical context because false teacher or pimps will try and use these historical commands to tithe to manipulate us to give more money. The Ekklesia must realize that certain commands given in the old and new Testament were giving to specific people at a specific time for a specific purpose which doesn’t always apply to us(Christians). All scripture must be understood in light of Jesus Death on the Cross which confirms the New Covenant and makes the OLD obsolete. Hebrews 7:18 states that there is a disannulling of the law. We have to understand that the pimping preacher deceives the saints by not teaching the truth. They won’t tell you that MALACHI, NEHEMIAH AND EZRA were contemporaries. In other words, they preached to the same folk! Nehemiah and Ezra IS the context of Malachi. If we read Nehemiah chapter 10, 11, 12, and 13 you will find the context of what Malachi is saying. The pimping preacher uses the pulpit to deceive; they employ physiological techniques to condemn Christian by taking scripture out of context and imparting fear in baby Christians. Have you heard words similar to these from a church pulpit? “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” (Mal.3:10). A tenth of your income belongs to God and if you don’t give it you are a God robber according to the Bible (Mal.3:8). If you are not faithful in giving your tithe, God will curse you (Mal.3:9) and not “rebuke the devourer” (Mal.3:11).” You WILL pay a tithe one way or the other, possibly through sickness, hardship, lost job, lost home or other means if you don’t give it to God.” “You cannot expect God to bless you if you do not tithe.” “No matter who else you owe or how much you are in debt, God’s tithe must come first.” Your entire tithe belongs here in the local church. “Will a man rob God and get by with it”? “Never, Never, YOU WILL PAY” ect. etc. This well known passage on tithing comes from the Old Testament book of Malachi 3:7-10.This Scripture has given rise to the practice of “Storehouse Tithing.” Simply stated, the congregation is exhorted from the pulpit to channel all of their Christian giving through the local church (storehouse). If they wish to give to a Christian organization, radio or television broadcast, etc., it must go through their denominational leaders in order for the local church to get “credit.” The pastor and elders often must make the determination if the cause supported by the giver is “worthy.” Looking at the text in Malachi 3:10, it is not a difficult scripture for us to rightly divide; God is saying to his Nation of Israel; to bring the tithes and offering into his house I repeat TO THE ISRAELITES not to Christians. Most pimping preachers will quote Malachi to put fear in the heart of Christians. Malachi 3:9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. We Christians are not under a curse if we don’t tithe. Jesus didn’t die to put us under a curse but to redeem us from the curse. Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”. Pimping Preachers regularly take Malachi 3:9 out of context to implant fear in the heart of the children of God. For many years, Malachi 3:6-14 has been misapplied to the church. God has another system for us. It is a system of faith-the same system that Abraham used; for we are justified by Christ and we are the just, and the just live by FAITH, not the commandments of the law. The truth is that God is really talking primarily to the Priest of Malachi time. If you read all four chapters of Malachi and follow the word YOU describing who God is talking to it clearly become the Priest. God curses the Priest three times before we even get to Malachi 3:9 and spends most of the book criticizing the priest; but Pimping Preachers want us to believe that God is talking primarily to the people. We are to believe although God Curses the Priest for most of the book all of a sudden they are the victims. Check out some of the Scriptures: Malachi 1:6-8“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is my honor? And if I am a Master, Where is my reverence? To YOU PRIEST who despise my name. Yet YOU say, ‘In what way have we despised your name. YOU offer defiled food on my altar, but say, ‘in what way have we defiled you?’ By saying, ‘The table of the LORD is contemptible.’ And when YOU offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when YOU offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor!(Nehimiah) Would he be pleased with YOU? Would he accept YOU favorably?” Says the LORD of hosts.” According to 1:6 and 2:1, Malachi is most specifically addressed to dishonest ministers, that is, Old Covenant priests! These two verses, 1:6 and 2:1, are the KEYS to understanding the entire book of Malachi. These two verses actually REVERSE what most of us have been told all of our lives. As you study the remainder of Malachi, do not forget the context of these two verses. God is specifically rebuking His ministers, the priests, and not the people. The first “you” in Malachi 1:6 refers to the priests. They are guilty of dishonoring God and despising His name. (1:7, 8) God is rebuking the ministers for giving Him what nobody else wants. By doing so, the ministers are guilty of despising the “Table of the LORD” Notice that God does not say that they did not “have” the adequate offering to present to Him. There is no reason to conclude that the ministers were forced to give defiled food because they did not have anything else to give. Again, God is talking to the priest and not the people. God says the priest offered defiled food. We can see here that God says to the priest that “YOU offer defiled food on my altar”, and goes on to say “YOU offer the lame and sick”. This is how the priest Robbed God in offerings. They would take the lame and sick of the herd and offer it to God while they kept the healthy animals for themselves! We will look at how they (the priest) robbed God in tithe later in this section. But for right now we need to understand that God only criticized the PRIESTS and not the people for bringing unacceptable OFFERINGS. He said that their governor would not even accept these offerings of the lame and sick for his table. This is because the governor (Nehemiah) knew that these ministers had plenty of good healthy animals for sacrifice from the firstborn offerings and from their share of the tithed animals. Why is this true? Because Nehemiah had ordered the people to bring these offerings and so much abundance had been received that storehouses were necessary ( see Neh. 10: 35-38; 12: 44, 47; 13: 4, 4, 12, 13) Malachi 1:14 “ But CURSED be the swindler who HAS a male in his[the priest’s] flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King, “says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.” Those who only read the curse of Malachi 3:9 do not realize that the word, curse, had previously been used by Malachi four (4) times in cursing the priests! This first curse of Malachi 1:14 is very evidently place on the priest, the ministers, of the Old Testament. The priest already “HAS” acceptable sacrificial animals. God did not excuse them because the people had not properly paid tithes! Malachi 2:1, 2 “And now, O’PRIEST, this commandment is for YOU. If you will not hear, and if YOU will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name,” Says the LORD of hosts, “I will send a CURSE upon YOU, and I will CURSE your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already. Here we see God has cursed the Priest Again! How many of you have heard your pastors talk about “Priest being curse” in Malachi. We are quoted Malachi 3:9 but for reasons of deception we don’t here anything about Priest being curse. What were they cursed for? They were curse because they offered defile animals as offering. Remember folks it was NOT necessary for Israelites to offer perfect animals when paying their Tithe; the Tithe on animals could not be redeemed. Only Tithe on seed of the land or fruit of the tree could be redeemed by added one-fifth to it. If it was an offering it had to be Perfect without blemish but not so with the Tithe. Unfortunately, most pimps tell you that when you pay your tithe you give the first and best part. Read this scripture: Leviticus 27:32-33 Leviticus of 27:30-33 “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or the fruit of the tree, is the lords. It is holy to the LORD. If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD. He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchange it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” Note: If a man had 9 sheep he was not required to tithe on that nine sheep because it was the 10TH ONE that pass under the rod not the First one. So it stands to reason that if you had 17 sheep you only tithe one sheep. If for some reason a man wished to retain part of what he would normally give as a tithe he could redeem it by paying its value plus one fifth. This does not, however, apply to the tithe of the herd or the flock. The Levites would be present to ensure that proper tithes were being paid, and in the case of herd and flock would pass them under a rod, taking aside every tenth one. That was then holy to the LORD. My question then becomes how does this resemble our tithe today? Pimping Preachers tell us everyone had a commandment to tithe even the very poor. They tell us that we can’t afford not to tithe. Nice cliché, but it is not biblical, we’ve seen in previous scripture that the tithe was not only for the Levites but also the poor, widow, stranger ect. Malachi 2:7, 8 “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge. And people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But YOU (the priest) have departed from the way; YOU (the priest) have caused many to stumble at the law. YOU (the priest) have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” Says the LORD of hosts” Again we see God mention the “Covenant of Levi” The covenant of Levi does not include that Whole Nation of Israel. He also mentions that the priest should keep knowledge. We have to understand that the priests were causing the people stumble! How you ask, well the priests were not being good example for the people. As a matter of fact, the priest scandalous example caused the people to stumble because the people look up to the ministers of religion in respect to the observances of the law. Even though it is true that God’s entire covenant with all Israel INCLUDED His specific covenant with the priests of the tribe of Levi, THE ONLY SPECIFIC CONVENANT mentioned in the book of Malachi is God’s covenant with the PRIESTS! These verses about God’s covenant with Levi remind us that, when the nation Israel sinned God held the priests primarily responsible for not living righteous lives before them and for not teaching His word correctly as they had done when the nation was young. Malachi 2:10 Have WE not all one father? Has not one God created US? Why do WE deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the COVENANT of our father? Notice the pronoun change from “you” to “we” and “us.” The LORD has temporarily stopped speaking in verse 9 and now Malachi is speaking. Since Malachi’s name means, my messenger, then he is most likely a priest himself. This means the “we” indicates “we priests.” Malachi’s message to the priest is this, “Since we (the priests and the rest of Judah) all have one father and one Creator, therefore, when we (priests) sin by violating our special covenant with Levi, we deal treacherously with everybody in the nation because our covenant is part of their covenant.” Malachi 2:11,12 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the LORD which he [Judah} loved, and has married the daughter of a strange god. The LORD will cut off the man that does this, the master and the scholar, out of the tents of Jacob, and him that offers an offering to the LORD of hosts .Here is where most commentaries say that God has switched from speaking only to the priests towards speaking to all of Judah. The reasons given for the change include the mention of Judah and God’s condemnation of divorce which all of Judah had committed. See Ezra 9:10 and Nehemiah 13. I disagree with this interpretation because verses 11 and 12 are “third person,” that is God is still speaking TO the priests, but He is speaking ABOUT Judah and all Israel. The sins which the priests have committed have also been committed by the rest of the nation. God holds the priests, the spiritual leaders, responsible for the spiritual welfare of the whole nation. This was made clear in verses 4-9. In Ezra 10 the priests are cleansed before the remainder of the nation is cleansed. Second, while it is quite evident that God switched His audience from the nation to the priests in 1:6 and 3:1 of Malachi , there is no corresponding pronoun “You” statement such as, “And now, O Judah, this is for you” to indicate that His audience has switched back. In Nehemiah which is the historical context of Malachi we see that the enemy of the Lord had taken up residence of all places in the Temple of God. The Levites were not given their portion of the tithe and the Priest were so corrupted that they even began to marry foreigners (Gentiles) serving as an example to the rest of Israel that this was ok. In Today’s church the priest are still causing the people to stumble! Malachi 2:13” And this is the second thing you do: You cover the “Altar of the LORD” with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.” This text has a strong relevance to the priests because they were the only ones who literally wept over the altar. The people of Judah and Israel had no direct access to the altar and could not literally “cover the altar of the LORD with tears.” According to Nehemiah, God was much more displeased with the priests than the rest of the people for their intermarriages with pagans (Neh. 13:23-30) Nehemiah13:25, “So I contended with them and cursed them struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Now look closely at verse 28,” And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.” Again remember that only the Aronic Priesthood could come near the Altar and not die. Not even the Levites servants who served in the temple could come into the holies of holies where “The Alter” of God was. Numbers 18:2 and 3 states, “And your brothers also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you; but you and your sons with you shall minister before the tabernacle of witness, verse 3, And they shall tend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle; only they shall not come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor you also die.” So we see not only would the Levite who serve would die if he came near “the Alter” but also the Priest who allow him. Malachi 3:3 “ He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. He will purify who? The SONS of LEVI not all the people but the SONS of LEVI. There were more tribes than Levi but God pacifically mentions them because he had a special covenant with that tribe. Please take a look at Malachi 3:5 with me: “So I will come near to YOU (the priest) for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me, “says the LORD Almighty. Notice the things that God is angry about: that laborers are defrauded of their wages; widows being oppressed; the fatherless and deprive aliens (strangers) Why is it the God is silent on Priest not receiving there part of the tithe? Knowing that Malachi and Nehemiah were written in the same context I believe the fraud (robbery) spoken of in Malachi 3, is described in detail in Nehemiah 13:4-13. It is in this context of Nehemiah that we see how that robbery had taking place. What I gather from the scripture, is that it was NOT that the Israelite’s were withholding the tithe from God, but rather Eliashib the priest who opened the temple store rooms to Tobiah and the portions of food assigned to the Levites were not given to them. (Tobiah was an Ammonite who worshipped the pagan-god Molech according to Ezra 2:59-60 and Nehemiah 2:10). Note: Tobiah was an Ammonite who conspired against the rebuilding of the wall during Nehemiah Governorship. Nehemiah 4:7,8 “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were make up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.” So we see from this passage of scripture that Tobiah was the enemy of God! These next verses in Nehemiah are so important that I will let them speak for themselves. Remember Eliashib the priest had authority over the storerooms and Tobiah was an enemy of God. Also remember that Malachi preached or prophesized to the same people. Before Nehemiah’s return; Nehemiah13:4-13 “Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah. And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the TITHES of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priest. But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib (the high priest) had done for Tobiah (the enemy of God), in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense (NOTICE THAT THE TITHES ARE NOT RETURNED TO THE STOREHOUSE; THEY WERE MISSING). I also realized that the portions (of tithes) for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. THEN all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.” So here we see why Malachi states bring all the tithes into the storehouse. They were replacing what was stolen by wicked priest and the enemy of God! Note: notice that after they cleanse the rooms they brought back the (articles of the house of God) (grain offering) and the frankincense, but after he gathered them together and set them in their place (tithe of the grain) and (new wine) and (the oil.) were missing. The “Robbing of God” wasn’t taking place with the “bringing” of tithe. It was taking place with distribution of the tithe to the non-priestly Levites. The wicked high priest Eliashib and his “kinfolk” Tobiah the Amorite (pagan) were apparently raiding the storerooms of the temple for themselves along with other corrupt priest. What God considered robbery (fraud) was withholding the tithe from His non-priestly Levites who abandoned their service to God when they weren’t fed. As a result the Levites didn’t get daily portions (of tithes) and went back to their fields to work. It’s very important for us to realize that the people as a whole didn’t bring their tithes to the storerooms of the temple; but it was the Levites who brought the tithe of the tithe or 1% of the total tithe which was to be given to the Aronic Priesthood. It is here in Nehemiah 13:4-13 you have THE VERY picture of what is happening in the church today: the priesthood of believers is being robbed by Pimping Preachers and religious parasites that are in charge of the so called new covenant “storeroom”. Brothers and Sisters, you aren’t the ones robbing God! The ones robbing God are the very ones who are accusing you! Now let’s looks at one of the most abused scriptures used by these pimps Mal: 3:8, “Will a man rob God? Yet YOU (THE PRIEST) have robbed me. But you say, wherein have WE (THE PRIEST) robbed you? In tithes and offerings. I am urging the reader to consider a very important question from 1:6 forward, “To whom is God speaking?” Again, “Who is the ‘you’ and ‘we’ of Malachi 3:8?” Although there is a secondary application to the people in general, God is still specifically speaking to the priests. Verse 7 ends with the priests from 2:17 to 3:6 asking God, “How shall we return to obeying you?” In context, they are asking, “What do we priests need to do in order to return to keeping your ceremonial worship “ordinances”? Verse 8 does not begin in a vacuum! It begins with God answering the question asked by the priests in 3:7. Honesty to God’s Word demands that we do not begin a Bible study at verse 8. God is telling the PRIESTS that THEY have robbed Him in tithes and offerings! You ask, “Where does the Bible say that God is speaking only to the priests?” And I answer: (1)
since God clearly BEGAN speaking to the priests in 1:6, Who has thus far robbed God in the context of Malachi 3:8? First, Bible students simply cannot ignore Malachi 1:13-14 which is clearly addressed to the priest from 1:6. The NAS reads, “…you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! …But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord …” Again, where the KJV reads “torn,” the NAS says “taken by robbery, “the NKJV says “the stolen,” the RSV says “taken by violence,” and the TLB says “stolen.” God says that the priests had “stolen” either more than their tenth of the tithe, more than their share of offerings, or both! Malachi also points out that the priests had robbed God by not giving Him the best which they had vowed. Second, when we compare Nehemiah 10:37, 38 and 12:44, 47 with 13:4, 5, 10, 11 it is clear that the high priest had stolen the Levites share of the tithe because everything else was at hand to replace. Undeniably the priests had stolen the tithe from the Levites! “And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field” (Neh. 13:10). The objector says, “No! No! You have it all wrong! The priests are completely innocent! The people are guilty of not bringing tithes to the priests! The people are guilty of robbing God!” I answer this objection by asking, “Where do you find this from Malachi 1:6 to 3:7?” Throughout the book of Malachi, THE PRIESTS HAVE BEEN THE VILLAINS, the guilty party, the robbers---and, now, suddenly, you say that they are the mistreated party. How inconsistent can one be! God has already CURSED the priests FOUR TIMES for robbing him and for not bringing what they already possessed. The priests are not the poor innocent victims which so many preachers want us to think. The priests are the “robbers” and “swindlers” who already have the tithes and offerings (from Nehemiah 10:38; 12:44, 47), but are not giving God the best and are not sharing with the Levites in Nehemiah 13:10 and the needy in Malachi 3:5. Malachi 3:9, “You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation.” KJV Malachi 3:9, “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you! NASU “Finally, “the tithe-teacher will say, “you must admit that NOW God is speaking to the WHOLE NATION and not to the priests in the verse!” I reply, “What is the context? Up to this point, the pronoun, YOU, has almost exclusively referred to the priests receiving the curses which God had placed on them because of their guilt. Are we justified in concluding that NOW the pronoun, YOU, suddenly refers to the people and that the people have wronged the priests?” The first four curses had been placed on the dishonest priests (1:14 and 2:2). These ministers were guilty of robbing God and received the longest and most harsh rebuke in Malachi (1:6 to 2:9). They had robbed Him by not offering the best (1:7-8). Their worship was not acceptable (1:8). God desired that one of them would stop the hypocritical worship and lock the temple doors (1:10). He was tired of their dishonesty (1:13-14) and curse them as deceiver or swindlers (1:14). Even their children would be affected by their sin and rebuked (2:3). God promised to even spread dung in their faces during their religious festivals (2:3) “But,” objects the tithe-teacher, “verse 9 clearly says “this whole nation.” I reply, “Look at the verse more closely.” For some good reason many scholarly Hebrew translators think that verse 9 should read, “This whole nation OF YOU.” Although “of you” does not appear in the King James Version, it does appear in the more literal NAS and RSV (and also the very popular NIV). The purpose of adding “of you” is unclear unless it distinguishes the whole nation “of you priest” from the rest of the nation! A possible contextual biblical precedent is seen in the theft of tithes from ministering Levites by Eliashib in Nehemiah 13:7-10 which had to involve other priests. Again, the main point thus far, however, is that (until now at least) God had been cursing the priests as thieves instead of expressing sorrow for them. Exactly what is the “CURSE” of Malachi 3:9? Deuteronomy 27:26 reads, “Cursed is he that does not confirm all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen” (quoted in Gal. 3:10). This was the curse of the Old Covenant. I repeat, the curse of Malachi 3:9 was the curse of the Old Covenant! The nation had promised God that they would completely obey every single part of the whole Law, or else agree to place themselves under a curse. Malachi’s audience, in Nehemiah 10:28-29, renewed their Old Covenant vows and, again, asked God to place them under the curse if they failed to comply with every single part of the Law. Jonathan Kithcart points out this very important point, “Why would Christ die to redeem us from the curse of the law, and then turn around and place us right back under the same curse? That’s crazy, man! Malachi 3:10, “ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be FOOD in my house, and prove me now herewith, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open to you the window of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” At first glance, the superficial preacher, student, or lay person ( there need to be clarification here I do not believe in the terms “lay” and “clergy” these are not biblical terms but man-made terms to separate the body of Christ) thinks that this verse is self-explanatory, it is actually very far from such. One must understand the inspired biblical context of both Malachi and Nehemiah in order to understand Malachi 3:10 Actually, beyond this single verse, God NEVER commanded anybody to bring ALL THE TITHES into THE storehouse in Jerusalem. This needs to be said again, “Beyond this single verse, God NEVER commanded anybody to bring ALL the tithes into THE storehouse in Jerusalem.” In fact, just the opposite is true! There were actually THREE different tithes required in the Old covenant, and only a small part (1%) of the first was commanded to be brought into the storehouse. Therefore, something is seriously wrong with the tithe-teachers explanation of Malachi 3:10. We will take a look at these three tithes later but we MUST remember that Malachi’s words are written to the Nation of Israel because they were the ONLY nation given a system of tithing. To try and place Malachi upon the church is jacked up and deceptive! And to go beyond that is flawed reasoning and invokes a claim of robbery on God’s New Testament Saints is more than flawed reasoning; it is an abuse of scripture and a slight of hand in interpreting the word of God. Clearly as you read on in this book, God says that all Nations (Gentiles) will call THEM (Israel) blessed and they will be a delightful land (Malachi 3:10-12) What’s so interesting is that Malachi is a call for Israel to return to the Law of Moses! Should Christian return to the law? Not according to Paul Galatians 3:10 “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: For it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. This doesn’t sound like Paul wants us to return to the law! Then he also states in Galatians 5:4 “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from Grace.” Instead We should do what Paul suggest in Galatians 5:1 and Stand fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free, and so not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” That yoke of bondage is the law! Again I would like to reiterate that if you read the book of Malachi in its entirety you will find that God is speaking primarily to the Priest, Not the people. It is important for us to remember that God held the priest responsible for the sin of the people related to the sanctuary. NUMBERS 18:1 “Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. TITHING UNDER THE LAW It is important to understand that there is a fundamental deception about tithing: It is not what it is presented to be. It will be clear from the following few verses, which most of you probably never heard your pastors mention. In the First and Second years listen to what the law Commandment was for the Israelites concerning the tithe. THE FIRST YEARLY (LEVITICAL) TITHE The
FIRST TITHE, which was for the Levitical servants of the priests, was NOT
to be brought to the temple storehouse. Numbers 18:21, states “And
behold, I have given the children of Levi ALL THE TENTH in Israel for an
inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the
tabernacle of the congregation” Neh. 10:37b, “And the Tithes of our ground [bring] to the Levites, that the same Levites might have the TITHES IN ALL THE CITIES OF OUR TILLAGE [NKJV: FARMING COMMUNITIES; NAS &RSV: RURAL TOWN] Num. 18:26 Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When you take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given to you from them for your inheritance; then you shall offer up a heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. (1%) This was the only tithe that was brought to the temple for the Aronic Priest! That right only 1% of the total tithe was actually brought to the temple for the priest and it was given to them from the Levites and not the people. How many times have you head your preacher preach that the priest only received 1%. Can you say deception! THE SECOND YEARLY (FESTIVAL) TITHE This second tithe was a festival tithe, and was also NOT brought for storage at the temple storehouse. Deuteronomy 12:17-18, “You may not eat within your gates the TITHE…but you must EAT them before the LORD your God IN THE PLACE WHICH the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice….NKJV This festival tithe was brought to “the place,” that is, “Jerusalem,” to one of three national religious celebrations to be shared by ALL. Since the tithe was always food, it was consumed by all in the streets as Israel celebrated. Therefore, neither was the second tithe brought into the storerooms of the Temple. Deut. 12:6 And there [later Jerusalem] you shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the first offspring of your herds and of your flocks: Deut. 12:7 And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand unto, you and your households, wherein the LORD your God has blessed you. Deut. 14:23 and you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there [later Jerusalem], the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first offspring of your herds and of your flocks; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. Deut. 14:23-27, “And thou shalt eat before the LORD they God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of they herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. 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, then you shall exchange it for MONEY, take the MONEY in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses, 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. One thing is important to remember: the Israelites WERE NOT REQUIRED TO LEAVE ANY PORTION OF THEIR TITHES at the appointed place of worship- this tithe was supposed to be consumed in an atmosphere of celebration, sharing and communion with God. . They were told to buy “Whatever your heart desires” even Wine. How many of you have never heard of this before? Your Pastor will never, never quote this scripture to you when trying to collect tithe money!
REMEMBER: The above scriptures are COMMANDMENTS OF GOD concerning tithing. When was the last time your pastor suggested that you take part of your tithe and have a celebration? The question that comes to mind then is why new covenant tithing of today doesn’t resemble this biblical tithe. Note: Whereas the first tithe was brought to the Levitical CITIES the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in the entire rural town. Neh. 10:37b, the second yearly tithe was brought to Jerusalem for the festivals which accompanied the numerous gatherings. Also, unlike the first tithe, along with the Levite, the other Israelites, their family members, and servants, ALL Ate portions of this tithe. Also, unlike the first tithe, this tithe was an integral part of REJOICING and celebration in the presence of the LORD. It is distinctly different from the first tithe. THE THIRD YEAR (POOR) TITHE Deut. 14:28 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. Deut. 14:29 And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you), and the stranger, and the fatherless and the widow, which are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. This third tithe was the “poor tithe”, and it also was NOT brought to the temple in Jerusalem either. This tithe was paid every third year and God specifically commanded that it should be kept “within the gates” of the tithe-payer for use by the Levites and all other needy. Therefore the third tithe was not even brought to Jerusalem, much less to a storehouse. Confused? How many times have you heard tithe-preachers point out these three tithes while preaching on Malachi 3:10? Malachi 3:10 is not so self-evident now, is it? Clearly “ALL” of the tithe was NEVER BROUGHT INTO THE “storehouse.” Therefore, since this was never true, then how can the church use it as its primary example of “storehouse tithing”????? We will make sense of all this confusion in the “STOREHOUSE TITHING” section of this paper. STOREHOUSE TITHING First of all let me say this, there is not one single scripture in the bible that states that the church treasury is the storehouse. This false doctrine is simply, “Heresy” because it is not taught in the bible and is contrary to biblical truth. I am amazed that so call men and women of God who study the word of God take this unbiblical false doctrine and use it to deceive babes in Christ pretending the bible teaches storehouse tithing and that a tithe must be brought to the local church. The simple question that needs to be asked is where is this stated in the Scriptures? There are basically two scriptures use to try and verify or qualify the use of storehouse tithing and that is Malachi 3:10 and I Corinthians 16:1, 2 which often are taken out of context but we will attempt to correctly divide at this time.
When dealing with the whole storehouse tithe deception we
must understand that Jerusalem was NEVER supposed to be the permanent
dwelling place of any of the priests or Levites! As you study Nehemiah, it
is very important to follow the background context of the Levitical cities
and the 24 courses of the priests and Levites. The reason this is
important in the study of storehouse tithing. Is because of the purpose
and location of the Levitical cities, In Malachi 3:10 it states “ bring
all the tithes into the storehouse” this cannot possibly mean what
most pimping preacher say that it means In light of The above verse may well be the single most damaging text in all of the Bible for those who believe that all tithes should be brought only to the Temple storehouse (of the Church?)This single statement sheds great light on the true meaning of Malachi 3:10s “bring the entire tithe into the storehouse.” Since God’s Word is accurate, then either Nehemiah 10:37 or Malachi 3:10 have been drastically taken ‘out of context.’ The NKJV reads “farming communities” and the NAS and RSV have “rural towns.” The Pimping/Preachers tell us all the tithe goes to the church of the Levites and that they “the clergy” are the new Levites... The truth is although they (the Levites) could not inherit land, they originally lived, farmed, and herded livestock in 48 cites scattered around the nation. These 48 cites are named in Joshua 21 and First Chronicles 6. After the civil war split the nation following Solomon’s death, most of the Levitical cites ceased to exist and the Levites moved into Judah which had 13 priestly cites. The biblical fact about the Levitical cities prove beyond controversy that the priests and Levites were never intended to be permanent residents of Jerusalem and the vicinity of its Temple. Although notable towns like Hebron and Jericho were Leviticus cities, Jerusalem was not! The overwhelming majority lived in Levitical cites outside Jerusalem. Let’s use the historical context and discern some truth. Neh. 10: 38 “And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take TITHES: and the Levites shall bring up THE TITHE OF THE TITHES TO THE HOUSE OF OUR GOD, to the chambers, into the storehouse.” Compare Num.18:26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When you take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.”(1%) First, the priests were supposed to receive the tithes from the (Levites) not in the Temple, but in the Levitical cities! To understand Malachi 3:10, this is worth repeating. The priests were supposed to receive the tithes from the, (Levites) not in the Temple, but in the Levitical cities! They were supposed to receive them from the LEVITES and not directly from the people. When the tithes were received in the Levitical cities, the priests separated their share, their tithe of the tithe (1%) from the balance, or the Levites’ share of the 90%. The Levites were then responsible for bringing the tithe of the tithe the priests share to the Temple in Jerusalem (and surely the priests accompanied them). Therefore, instead of being commanded to bring the tithe to the Temple, the ordinary citizen was commanded to bring the tithes to the Levitical cities. Also, instead of being commanded to bring the tithes to the priests, the ordinary citizen was commanded to bring the tithes to the Levites. The Levites would, in turn, give the priests their share and the Levites (not the people) would be responsible for bringing it to the Temple. Again, this proves the normal interpretation of Malachi to be wrong SINCE, therefore, Malachi 3:10 does not refer to the 90% (or more) bulk of the tithe which stayed in the Levitical cites for the Levites (and other non-ministering priests) THEN, Malachi 3:10 should not be used in any way whatsoever to command Christians to bring all of their so called “tithe” into the so-called “storehouse” of the church. Closely related to the Levitical cites is the fact that both priests and Levites had been divided by King David into 24 coursed consisting of several houses, or families, per course Each course only ministered in the Temple one week out of twenty four (1 in 24), and, depending on how many families were in each course, each family only ministered in the Temple two or three days during its coursed week of ministry. The biblical facts about the division of the priests and Levites into 24 courses prove that they did not serve full-time at the temple. Furthermore, only those priests above thirty and Levites above twenty years of age were qualified to serve. Therefore, it would be impractical to move the rest of the family to Jerusalem for only one week. Thus the majority of the family, including women and servants stayed in the Levitical cities and Levites lived outside of Jerusalem in the Levitical cites (23 of 24) courses plus women, children and servants), and, since the TITHE was intended to be a major source of their FOOD, then common sense tells us that the basic tithe STAYED in the Levitical cities where the priests and Levites lived! The Pimping preachers Greed won’t let him tell you the truth so he continues to deceive by twisting the word of God. It is clear from comparing all of these texts that the “people” were commanded to bring the tithe to the Levitical cites (not the Temple storehouse) and that the Levites and priests were commanded to bring the priests small portion of the tithe to the temple. Therefore, how can Malachi be addressed to all of the people? Actually, not even all of the priests’ portion was brought to the temple. Nehemiah 10:38 does not say “when.” Since the priests and Levites only served in the Temple one week out of twenty four (1 of 24), the portions of the tithe going to the storehouse were very small indeed. Nehemiah 12:44 explains that it was necessary to bring food (from the tithes) to those priests and Levites who were taking their turn ministering. They were to bring “only the portions of the law” into the temple storeroom. When Nehemiah 12:47 says, “all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion,” it is again referring only to the daily “portion” which was brought up from the Levitical cites into the storehouse to provide for those ministering (see also 2 chron. 31: 16). This “portion” was from the whole tithe of the Levites and from the tenth of the tithe of the priests. However (and this is important). The balance of the tithes was kept in the Levitical cities where the majority of the priests and Levites lived! Again, it makes no sense to place the FOOD in one place while the PEOPLE lived in another place. Now, let continue to another text that’s use by Pimps to manipulate the children of God to give more money to a church storehouse. 1st Corinthian 16:1-3 “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve, them will I send with letters to carry your bounty unto Jerusalem.” When we carefully examine this text we can see exactly what Paul is saying to the Corinthians he states, “Now concerning the collection for the saints” Here, Paul clearly states to the Corinthians the purpose of his instructions. It is for “the collection.” The article “the” in the Greek indicates that there was “one collection” and the Corinthians new exactly what Paul was taking about. It was THE collection for the saints, the one that would result in money and food for the poor saints who were suffering in Jerusalem. “As I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye.” Many manipulating preachers often try to take the word “Order” and make it into a Biblical law in an attempt to confuse baby Christians. In my military days I’ve had army commanders give me orders and sometimes those orders changed depending on the situation and circumstances. We must understand that the word “Order” is a military term and should not be confused with a biblical Law. We must not become presumptuous and conclude that God was setting up a biblical law that must be observed forever because of the word “Order.” “Upon the first day of the week” –This is an interesting statement. Literally, it says “the first of the Sabbath” which is a Hebraic expression. The Jews marked the days of the week from the Sabbath, or Seventh day. Hence, Sunday was “the first of the Sabbath Monday was the second of the Sabbath, etc. “Let each one of you lay by him in store” – This is the verse that we need to look at very carefully because here is where deception creeps in the mind of false teachers and causes controversy. Paul is saying to each individual Corinthian to “lay by him in store.” The meaning in the Greek is that each one is to lay something alongside himself, storing it. The Greek words, par` heauto means “alongside himself,” or “by him”. “Para is found in other English words, such as “parallel” and “parable.” It carries the idea of being alongside something. In a parable a lesson is laid alongside a story. Parallel means that two things are side by side. The second part of the Greek word which heauto is the pronoun, “him.” Therefore, something is being laid alongside one’s self. Paul is instructing each disciple to lay something away at home, storing it, every “first day of the Sabbath.” He is not telling Christians to bring their money to an assembly and drop it into the basket. Right here re-read the passage. There is not one word in it that would give us the idea of an assembly. One must assume that an assembly is under consideration before one can have a collection. Nowhere in the word of God do we have a command for, or an example of, a weekly collection taken up at some kind of assembly. This is the passage that preachers always use to obligate the people of God for something God never required in the first place! They want the money to flow into the institutional Church so badly, to pay for their salaries and for all the beautiful buildings, that they are willing to base their teaching on an assumption. In order to have a weekly collection, “authorized by God,” they must assume an “assembly” in the passage, and that the saints were required by God to support the “local church” financially. It is so easy to “read into” the passage that which they want desperately. “As he may prosper”- The Christians in Corinth were to measure what they intended to “store” by their weekly “prosperity.” Each “first of the Sabbath” they were to take a portion of what they earned all week and “lay it alongside themselves,” storing it at home. Later, when Paul arrived, it would be given to the messengers selected to transport the “bounty” to Jerusalem. “That no collections are made when I come” Traditionalist insist that this statement has to mean that Christians were to bring their money to a weekly gathering and drop it into a common treasury, but does it? To insist upon this negates the force of the preceding statement we have just examined. One has to ignore or twist Paul’s plain instructions to “lay alongside himself, storing” in order to arrive at the traditional position. “That no collections be made when I come” must be understood in light of the clear statement which proceeds. The traditionalist assumes far too much when he insists that “collections” must mean a series of weekly contributions, much as is commonly practiced today, and that it could not mean anything else. Then, what does the expression mean? I think “that no collections be made when I come” gives reason to “Let each one of you lay by him in store.” In other words, save it at home so that no collections will need to be made when I come. Paul did not want them to try an collect the money at the last minute. But save it so when the time came they would already have it. This deception has gain momentum, and the acceptance of this erroneous teaching by the masses has added a placebo legitimacy factor to the deception of Tithing. Institutionalized Churches have fallen into legalism. Trying to mix Man made tradition, Old covenant law, and Grace It is wrong for these pimps who have accepted this heresy for personal gain, prestige or control to try to infer that it is taught in the Scriptures. It is not! No reputable scholar in the world thinks so. No commentary teaches it. No statement of faith in all history has ever affirmed it. It is a heresy, a new heresy made by men to get more of your money and control the giving of the people. (Remember a pimp has to have control!) Who in their right mind would think that God doesn’t put the Responsibility for Soul Winning on Every Christian? God wants every child that belongs to him to get out the Gospel and it is not done simply by an institutionalized local church alone. The Great Commission is to everyone who is saved and baptized. The children of God ought to understand that every thing they have is God’s and he will hold you responsible as to how you spend every cent of it, not on how much you “give back” to him at some formal gathering. Please don’t misunderstand me; I see no problem with a group of Christian wanting to pool their resources together in order to accomplish some worthwhile endeavor. There is nothing wrong with saints having a budget. A budget is simply an agreement made by the participants to help lower certain expensed caused by the group. But we must understand that there is no indication that “giving on the first day of the week” into a common treasury, secured by a God-given ordinance, was mandatory for the saints until the institutional Church concept was fully developed. Paul is not addressing any of the matters above except a “collection for the saints.” He had in mind a group of poor saints in Judea, primarily in Jerusalem, who were starving and needing help. If I Corinthians 16 “authorizes “anything, it “authorizes” taking up “collections” among the saints in one part of the world, and sending them to take care of “poor saints” in another part of the world. There is nothing in the text that would indicate that Paul’s statement was given to set up some kind of on-going, money-making system by which the Church takes care of all operating expenses. There is nothing in the New Testament that shows God is concerned with such matter. He could care less if we met in our own homes; by a lake, under a bridge, in a school or under a tree. I have had preachers tell me that the ONLY way it can work today is for the people of God to have a “Church building.” Some have made an “expedient” into law. Find the passage that shows the corporate, institutional Church is ordained by God and must be financially supported by His people. Prove from the scriptures that God is pleased with the process whereby millions of dollars are collected from the saints each year and over 90 percent is spent on expensive properties and extravagant preacher salaries, paying men to preach to the same folk year after year instead of taking the gospel to lost sinners and taking care of the needy. Look at the percentage of Churches that have no Prison Ministry but send there Pimps to extravagant Conferences paid for, of course by the flock. One important thing that we need to remember as Christians is that it is essential for us to understand the basic difference between the Old and New Covenants when considering the will of God for us today. Law and Grace are opposing principles. Not to grasp this distinction is to mix and confuse law and grace with damaging spiritual consequences. Christians are not under the OT Law or its economy. The multi-cultural church is not the Theocratic nation of Israel. Therefore to enforce compulsory tithing for the Christian creates a false synthesis of law and grace. It is this error that Apostle Paul tackles in the book of Galatians. It is the mistake of those who seek salvation not through Christ alone but through Christ plus tithing which is of the law. It is the error of the legalist and the false doctrine of the Pimping Preacher. THE EXAMPLE Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. If we really want to know the truth look at what Jesus said in Luke 10 chapter when he sent out the seventy verse 3-9,” Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peaces shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again .And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they GIVE: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. This is the scripture Paul was probably referring to in 1Corinthians 9:14, “Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. He commanded them to not take money with them, and to rely on those whom they were sent to preach the gospel. He said, “remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they GIVE, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Where does it mention a mandatory tithe to be given to those who preach the gospel! It is interesting that this particular chapter is not mentioned that often by the modern day preachers. The reason might be the following verses. 1Corinthians 9:15-9, “ But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me for it would be better for me to die than that anyone would make my boasting void. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have make myself a servant to all, that I might win the more. I’m having some trouble reconciling what the bible says with what the things I keep seeing around those who would call themselves the servants of Christ. Paul was a bondservant of Christ. He accepted deprivation, danger, hardships of all kinds in order to minister to the Body of Christ. By his own words, he made it clear that while he could ask for their support, he chose not to. He had a job and a mission instead. That, of course would mean he would have to do without. He wouldn’t be able to own the well tailored togas. He wouldn’t be able to own the best chariot around, pulled by the fastest horses. And he would have to pass up on a villa cozying up to the Rubicon River just outside Rome. In other words, he would have to pretty much look and live like the rest of the folk he ministered to. Why is it that most preachers today refuse to follow example of Paul. There is another interesting and relevant passage that is seldom mentioned by the preachers who believe in tithing. On his journey to Jerusalem, Apostle Paul made a brief stop-over a Miletus where he called the elders from Ephesus to join him. Here is an extract from his address to them: Acts 20:33-35, “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak, And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It should be noted that the above words were given to all who are saved but here specifically to the Elders, not as a tip for their sermons, but rather as a call to them to lead by an example; not only by their personal example but also by the example of their ministry. We must understand and know that Jesus gave us this same example of being a servant In John 13:14, 15 he states,” If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you.” AND WHEN JESUS SENT FORTH THE TWELVE HE SAID TO THEM IN MATTHEW 10:8,”Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: Freely ye have received, freely give.
Another misleading argument often invoked in an attempt to enforce tithing is that of “church authority”. This is when the Saints are told, God will back up the position of an OT tithing system upon His people on the basis of the ministerial authority of His Church, binding it upon the members. We are lead to believe that the Lord of Heaven will then legalize it-even if it is opposite to the Will of God. Matt 16:19 is often cited to support this absurd argument: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. This verse is built on the same principle as John 20:23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them they are not forgiven. Since only God reads the heart, and only God gives repentance, we see that the meaning is clearly dependent on whether God has already so determined. If we get it wrong, God does not agree. What this verse tells us is that the Church’s authority to bind or loose is restricted to what is already bound or loosed in heaven; and this is set out in the Holy Scriptures, not determined by the whims of pimping preachers who deceive the sheep by raping them of righteous discernment. No-one has any authority to bind upon Christians anything that is contrary to the Word of God! This Scripture does not prove that tithing should be an obligation for Christians, so it cannot be mandated by “church authority.” Remember the lords prayer “thy WILL be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Remember that no one can bind what has not already been bounded in heaven and no one can loose whatever has not been loosed in heaven. In other words, if the word God has loosed it pimping preachers can’t bind it, and if the word of God has bound it, the preacher can’t loose it. If we were to translate these passages in Matthew very literally (though awkwardly in English), it would read, “….. whatever you loose on earth shall having been loosed in heaven.” This shows that the apostles were not to decide a matter thus binding heaven to their decision. It means that their decision will be in line with what God’s mind was already on the issue. It is a known fact that the true meaning of bind and loose is the authority to declare what God’s mind is on a matter of doctrine or practice. This is what the early church did in Acts 15. To bind means to forbid or be unlawful and to loose is to allow or be lawful. The future tense (shall having been bound or loose) shows that this authority is only valid when used in submission to Christ’s word or teaching. Neither Christ nor the apostles ever taught Gentiles to tithe. So how can pimping preacher come along and tell us now it is a mandatory law. It is not supported in the Scriptures! It does not give the church the authority to reach back and retrieve this mandatory old covenant ordinance and loose it upon the church later in history. Telling Christians that the have no choice but to tithe or God will curse them. The phrase “bind” and “to loose” was often used by the Jews. It meant to prohibit and to permit. To bind a thing was to forbid it; to loose it, to allow it to be done. When Jesus gave this power to the apostles, he meant that whatsoever they forbade in the church should have divine authority; whatever they permitted, or commanded, should also have divine authority-that is, should be bound or loosed in heaven, or meet the approbation of God. They were to be guided infallibly in the organization of the church:
1) For instance, they prohibited or declared unlawful the use of circumcision, which after the death of Christ, they declared to be no longer of use now that we are under grace and not under law. 2) They bound, or forbid the observance of days, months, times, and years; the keeping holy days, new moons, and Sabbaths (old covenant ordinances including tithing) which had been used previously in the Jewish church. This included the first day of the New Year, and of every month, the Day of Atonement, the feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, tabernacles, the jubilee year, the sabbatical year, and seventh day Sabbath. (Gal 4:10) 3) They loosed, or declared lawful and free, both civil and religious conversation between Jews and Gentiles where before the Jews had no dealings with the Gentiles. They would not enter their houses, or keep company, have conversation or eat and drink with them. But now it was determined and declared, that no man should be called common or unclean, and that in Christ Jesus and in his church, there is no distinction of Jew and Gentile. (Acts 10:28) this is why paul confronted peter to his face 4) They also loosed, or pronounced lawful, the eating of any sort of food without distinction, even that which was before counted common and unclean, being persuaded by the Lord Jesus Christ, by the words he said in (Mat 15:11). These things now by them, being bound or loosed, pronounced unlawful or lawful, are confirmed as such by the authority of God, and are likewise to be considered the same by us. The bottom line is this, how can anyone loose a binding old covenant law like (tithing) on new covenant Christian? You can’t because we don’t live by the law but by faith and grace from our savior Jesus. Christ and His disciples provided for their festival needs and everyday expenses (John 13:29), and there is no Scripture in the entire NT to indicate that the early Christian leaders ever taught tithing as a means of funding the keeping of the festivals, or for any other purpose, for that matter The method used by the early Church to support itself and its work is the method Christians should employ today. God’s Spirit convicts the Christian to give according to his heart, as a “cheerful giver” (2Corinthians 9:7), giving “not as of necessity, but willingly” (philem 14) not according to prescribed limits laid down by some sort of “tithing law,” but as convicted by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God moves us to give! We have to understand like Paul that circumcision is of the heart and true giving to God is from the heart also.
PRIESTS and LEVITES
Numbers 18 gives a very good explanation concerning the administration of the first fruit and tithe. In order to understand it, we must understand the difference between a priest and a Levite. The Levites were one of the 12 tribes of Israel. When it came time for God to choose who He wanted to serve at His tabernacle, He chose the tribe of Levi. Certain “Levite” families/clans were given different responsibilities at the tabernacle. Some of these Levites were responsible for caring for the tabernacle’s altar, courtyard, curtain, frames, articles (lamp stand, ark, etc.) God also chose that certain Levites would be the priests: Aaron and his sons and their family. So we see that only a very few of the Levites were actually priests, but all priests were Levites. Think of it this way: all Georgians (those who live in Georgia) or Americans but not all American are Georgians. Just as Georgians are a specific group of American; Priests were a specific group of Levites. So even though priests are Levites, the Bible often separates them into two different categories for they both had different responsibilities at God’s tabernacle. THE SPIRIT OF TITHING So let’s look at the “Sprit of tithing”. But before we move on to this I would like to restate some things. Firstly, tithing and giving is not the same thing. Biblically-speaking, tithing was a type of giving. There were (and are today) many types of giving. Secondly, even though the biblical command to tithe has been removed, we are still commanded to give. We are commanded to love, and love gives of itself and of its possessions. So let’s take a look at the “Spirit of tithing” rather than the “letter of tithing”. Let’s start by looking at what the tithe was used for. It was used to feed widows. Perhaps the spirit of tithing is saying that today Christians are weak in their care for widows. Maybe the “Spirit” of tithing is saying, “You need to take better care of the widows in your midst”. 1 Timothy 5:3-16 gives guidelines of how to do this. The tithe was also used to feed the fatherless. Perhaps the Spirit of tithing is saying, “You need to take better care of the fatherless in your midst. “There are not only orphans(those who have no father or mother) who need cared for, but think of the children whose fathers have died or in prison, these children have a mother, but no father.. We call them single parent house hold. These children are still fatherless. Maybe the Spirit of tithing is saying, “You need to take better care of the fatherless.” Stranger/aliens were also fed by the tithe. Perhaps the Spirit of tithing is saying, “You need to take better care of the stranger—the one who has just moved here from another country, city or town, someone running from disaster like flooding, hurricane in Florida, ECT, they are in a wandering mode looking for help. Levites were also fed by the tithe. Who were the Levites? They were the tribe of Israel chosen to consecrate in place of every firstborn male in Israel. The Levite also had no inheritance of land in the Promised Land as did the other tribes. Levites were responsible for service of the tabernacle and later on at God’s temple (service which included intercessors, singers, gate keepers, treasurers, bakers, etc.—1 Chronicles 23-26). Levites were given the priesthood responsible for the nation of Israel. They also taught the nation God’s law. Maybe the Spirit of tithing is saying you need to take better care of those people who have given themselves over to Jesus in way that that they don’t have the same inheritance that you do. “Maybe we need to be better concerning care for full-time intercessors, worshipers, teachers, preachers ECT. We need to understand that no one can claim to be from the tribe of Levite today. And levites were not only Preist but worked in the temple like the workers in the church today. Another key concept of the tithe was it was “holy to the Lord”. It belonged to God. We need to be careful of the ideology that states, “God still wants you to tithe to Him 10% of your income because this portion is holy and belongs to Him. You then can use the other 90% for whatever you want. But that first 10% belongs to Him. “This is not the case today. We are in a partnership with the Lord. Everything we have (the WHOLE 100%) belongs to God! “He (Holy Spirit) will bring glory to me (Jesus) by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine.” John 16:14-15 “All I (Jesus) have is yours, and all you (Father) have is mine.” John 17:10 Through Jesus Christ our Lord, the covenant that we are now in says that everything we have belongs to God and everything He has belongs to us! So we can’t say, “God’s portion is the tithe and we get to live off of the rest. No. The entire 100% of what we have belongs to the Lord and the opposite is also true: everything God has belongs to us! We are not “owners of nothing yet stewards of everything”. We are in fact Joint heirs (joint owners!) with Christ (Romans 8:17 Gal. 4:7) Just as a husband and wife can jointly own a house—that is, the house belongs 100% to the husband and 100% to the wife—we must remember that we are in that type of covenant with the Lord. We too must say to our Father, “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.” John 17:10 So let us use our freedom to bring honor to the Lord. Let us each pursue God, His will and his ways; and let us each live out our convictions without pointing a finger at another who does not do the same things with their freedom that we do with ours. Let us leave behind the “letter of tithing as well as the letter of the law—Jesus has set us free from them (Romans 7:6) But maybe some of you reading this believe that God has told you to give 10% of your income; and for you to not tithe would be disobedience. I agree. But remember that this is a personal word to you from God. It does not apply to everyone else. Also, be creative with the ways in which you give. When you see a need, meet the need directly yourself. The Israelites gave their tithe directly to the widow and fatherless. It wasn’t given to priests or Levites (who then in turn would have distributed it to widow and and fatherless) but was given directly to the widow and fatherless; especially not through the storehouses. So let’s walk in both freedom and obedience to God! CONCLUSION In Malachi 3:10 the promised reward to Israel for returning to the law was that the windows of heaven would be opened and pour down an overflowing blessing. What is this blessing? It was Rain, the rain would cause the land to be productive and bring forth fruits that can be presented to God. For the Christian, rain represents spiritual blessing. What is Rain but water, and water represents truth. Ephesians 5:26 “Christ loved the church and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the Washing of WATER by the word.” There is a comparison or shadow between the earthly blessings for making offerings and tithing and the spiritual blessings of God giving of his spirit (rain) and the Christian growing good fruits of the spirit. These are our offerings to God. He doesn’t want our money. He wants our Heart. In other words, He wants our character to produce fruit in the form of a changed heart. He wants us to give him the Fruit of the spirit; which are Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But the First and most important is Love. Where there are “the fruit of the Spirit” the Spirit is at work. We can trust that. We as Christian have to understand that it is impossible to be godly or holy apart from the Spirit; we just don’t have that ability. When it comes to our fleshly nature, we are determined on getting what our flesh desires. Even the best of what we are gets twisted and jacked up by this inner drive call our flesh. God
has a very different way, and wants us to follow it. Since we can’t, do it
on our own the Spirit grows us up, cleans us up, and makes good (fruit)
come from us, in the manner of Jesus Christ. Each of us in the Spirit has
a different share of each fruit, and each fruit has a different shape in
each person—but all the fruit will show themselves in each Christian as he
or she goes deeper into their walk with the Spirit. Instead of preaching
mandatory tithing Preachers should be preaching Jesus so that the child of
God can grow. Sanctification is a process and we grow as we walk with God.
And we give according to our faith and faith comes by hearing the word of
God. So it stands to reason that the more time we spend with God the more
faithful we become, the more faithful we become the more fruitful we
become, the more fruitful we became the more we take on the
characteristics of Jesus. We must understand that the value of a person is
determined by what (fruit) he or she produces and how much. Jesus said you
will know them by their fruit not there money. The agricultural fruits
brought into the storehouse correspond to the fruits of the heart a
Christian which must be developed through the Holy Spirit and present to
God. They do not properly correspond to the fruits of his physical labor
demonstrated by his weekly paycheck. Pimping Preachers for reason of
self-preservation will object and reject this truth. Instead of telling
the truth they result to deception and fear to coeherse money from the
flock. But even in the midst of deception the wheat must grow with the
tares, these tares stand tall and proud, while the wheat bows humbly. The
Tares try to pose as true Christians, but are imitations. Tares are the
product of false teachings. Not realizing that grace that doesn’t change
you is not soul saving grace. 
Bibliography
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Douglas, Hillyer, Bruce, et al
(editors). [uvp]: 1988
This article was sent in to
us via email by Bro. Robert Johnson through our website. We decided
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Blessings, |
to see my brothers and sister used by these conniving pimps. I am
constantly told by friends and family that I am just too radical and that
I should tone down my words when I speak about these pimps. My answer to
my family even though I love them and value there opinions is a relentless
NO! I
am not ashamed of being radical! I am not concern if they speak well of
me!