True HOLY biblical tithes were always only food from inside God’s HOLY land of Israel which He had miraculously increased. Jesus did not qualifiy as a tithe payer and neither did anybody outside Israel. http://www.tithing-russkelly.com

Good word. However, he does reward you if you tithe and I don’t think there is anyway around it. The tithe was not an old covenant principle. Tithing was established 400 years before the Old Covenant. It was not done away with Christ, because He came to fulfill the Law(Old Covenant). The tithe is separate from the Old Covenant. On top of that the High Priest, in the Old Covenant would receive the tithe and pray the blessing of the tithe. Now Jesus, in the New Covenant receives our tithes and prays the “blessing of the tithe” over our lives. That’s in the book of Hebrews 7. The tithe was and still is 10% off the gross of our income, separate from our ministerial workings. (Mal. 3; Heb. 7)

The goodness of God leads us to repentance. With all respect He shows His goodness and rewards those that diligently seek Him. He does tell us His good blessings and benefits so that we know when let Him live through us, He rewards us. Other than that I agree with you. Well spoken with the rest of what you wrote. I would prefer to hear what you said everyday of the week and twice on Sunday than what most of the Body of Christ teaches.

Hi Jesse, thanks for your comments about the tithe.

I might write a little about this specific topic in the near future, as it has been abused by much of the church in our time. As Russel also pointed out above, the original tithe was never made with money. Only farmers and land owners were instructed to tithe and they could only do so with the first fruits of the land or with animals. I will reference all of this in the article I am going to prepare. I agree that Jesus came to fulfill the law but He didn’t teach us to give 10% of our income. Paul reiterates this in 2 Cor 9:7:

2Co 9:7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

God loves a cheerful giver, who give without feeling compelled, obligated or forced to do so. If somebody says, “You HAVE TO give 10%”, then they have laid down a law, compelling them to do so. When you go back under law, you fall from grace. (Gal 5:4). As for Heb 7, Paul was pointing out the difference between the old and new covenants. In verse 12 he writes:

Heb 7:12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

When Jesus came there was a change in the priesthood and therefor there was a change in the law. Since Jesus fulfilled the law, we have no more law to live up to in order to receive blessings from God. Jesus + anything = nothing. Jesus + nothing = everything. In other words, if people say one has to tithe, they are saying Jesus + our obedience = blessing. That is just not gospel.

If you go read the story about Abraham and Melchizidec in Gen 14 again, you might notice that he gave a tenth to Melchizidec but he didn’t give anything from what he owned or possessed personally. It was only from the spoils of war. Abraham then went on and gave the other 90% to the king of Sodom. Abraham gave 100% of his increase away. If you want to follow that example, then 10% is not even close.

If you want to tithe and give 10% every month, that is great. But if you think that God is going to withhold a blessing because you didn’t tithe, the you are working for the blessing and would probably feel condemned if you skip a month. If you feel condemned, it shows you are trying to establish righteousness based on your own performance instead of faith in Jesus. I hope you understand, I will write an article about tithing soon and reference all those verses properly.

Thanks for your encouraging words at the end!

Much love and grace,

Cornel

Thanks for the advice. Will put it to work. Tom

What a good word Cornel! There is nothing more ‘fleshy’ than a good dose of ‘self-righteousness.’ By that I mean, when I impute my sins to my self, dont forgive my self, remain under guilt & condemnation, and punish my self and go about establishining my own righteousness which is what I have ‘born by the will of the flesh’ which is everything I do to gain acceptance, forgiveness and blessings by my obedience to the law, including tithing to get God (manipulation New Covenant style) to bless me, than all of that is what comes from people who wont ‘put up with sound (what Jesus has done for us, as us) doctrine but have itchy ears (what I must do to get God to do something based on my obedience). This includes ‘tithing.’ How come Phil. 4:19 doesnt say (Paul never once mentioned tithing) “But my God shall supply all your need according to your tithing or sowing?” We cannot even tithe to Jesus because He is of the tribe of Judah, the tithe went to the tribe of Levi, under the law! Also, Im just using this as an example ok? Abraham never got blessed for tithing, he tithed because God had already blessed him and Melchizedek (I believe was Jesus) said “Blessed are you Abraham, blessed are you whom God HAS (past tense) subdued your enemies.” Besides, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law which means I am not cursed if I dont tithe, and I dont get any more blessed than by what Jesus has already done for me if I do tithe. We give from what Jesus has done, not to get Him to do something He has not already done. Its been awhile since I spoke with you, CONTINUE TO PREACH WHAT YOU ARE PREACHING, we love you!

When I visit your page, feel my knowledge rise. This is good !

What a good word Cornel! There is nothing more ‘fleshy’ than a good dose of ‘self-righteousness.’ By that I mean, when I impute my sins to my self, dont forgive my self, remain under guilt & condemnation, and punish my self and go about establishining my own righteousness which is what I have ‘born by the will of the flesh’ which is everything I do to gain acceptance, forgiveness and blessings by my obedience to the law, including tithing to get God (manipulation New Covenant style) to bless me, than all of that is what comes from people who wont ‘put up with sound (what Jesus has done for us, as us) doctrine but have itchy ears (what I must do to get God to do something based on my obedience). This includes ‘tithing.’ How come Phil. 4:19 doesnt say (Paul never once mentioned tithing) “But my God shall supply all your need according to your tithing or sowing?” We cannot even tithe to Jesus because He is of the tribe of Judah, the tithe went to the tribe of Levi, under the law! Also, Im just using this as an example ok? Abraham never got blessed for tithing, he tithed because God had already blessed him and Melchizedek (I believe was Jesus) said “Blessed are you Abraham, blessed are you whom God HAS (past tense) subdued your enemies.” Besides, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law which means I am not cursed if I dont tithe, and I dont get any more blessed than by what Jesus has already done for me if I do tithe. We give from what Jesus has done, not to get Him to do something He has not already done. Its been awhile since I spoke with you, CONTINUE TO PREACH WHAT YOU ARE PREACHING, we love you!