The traditional teaching that we as Christians MUST tithe because “Abraham tithed before the Law, Jesus talked about tithing and the Book of Malachi says don’t rob God by withholding your tithes” is not true. Tithing is not a Rule for us, who are under the New covenant. Tithing is not a command. You don’t have to give to God to make Him bless you; He blesses you and takes care of you because you are His child. A Dad, who gets money from his child for providing care, is not a Dad. He is not a Dad, He is Bad. God is not Bad, He is our Dad.
Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33(NIV) : What are the ALL things? Everything you need. What should you do: Tithe?? Give lots of Offerings?..No, Give God first priority is the only condition and you will give Him first place if you know that He is your Daddy and if you really love Him.
Abraham gave 10% tithe to Melchizedek only once. God didn’t command Abraham to tithe; He gave because He wanted to give.
Jesus asked the people under the Old Covenant to do what was required under the Old covenant. He was not commanding Christians to tithe in that passage. The New covenant came into effect only after the cross, till then the Old covenant was in effect. When the Leper got healed, Jesus asked him to go the priest and give the sacrifices that were required under the law for his cleansing. When Jesus heals you or When people get healed now, do they have do what the Leper did because Jesus said so??…The Bible must be interpreted under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with the context in mind. This is Stupid interpretation. Moreover, Jesus stated Tithe as “FOOD” not “MONEY”.
In The Book of Malachi God is speaking through His Prophet to Israelites who were under the Law…The Whole Bible is divinely inspired but we must know what is for us and what is not for us. Preachers use this passage to manipulate people to give tithes and offerings. The Bible commands us to stone rebellious children. Are we having “Stoning Rebels Day” in our Churches, where we line up the Rebels in our Churches and stone them to death??…Grow up. God is not going to curse us for robbing Him by not paying tithes; Jesus took our curses so that we don’t have to be under any curse. If you are under any curse even after coming to Christ, it is not because of the absence of tithing but because of the presence of stupidity. Jesus took your sins and curses upon himself, letting sins and curses beat you is the height of stupidity. It is like I take you to a restaurant, we eat, I pay the bill and you pay the bill again. That’s stupidity.
Note: I would have irritated many by now. Whatever, read on…Ask God to show you the truth. Don’t take me at my word. Have a Open mind and a Open Heart.
If Tithes must go the Priests of our day, as it was done at that time, then we are in Big trouble because under the New covenant everyone is a Priest…Ooops. Many are believing the lie that the “5 fold Ministers or Church Leaders” are special and are the Priests of our day. Every Christian is a priest and is called to do what Jesus did and Greater works than Him. God has appointed Leaders in the Church to train believers for ministry not to show off that their special. Leaders have extra responsibility not extra status. Everyone in the Kingdom is a Son of God, a Daughter of God. Pastor or Prophet is not a title; it is the work or the service, the Leaders are called to do. Leaders are walking around as Celebrities while a Leader according to Jesus’ theology is “a Servant of all”. Whatever, Everyone is a priest.
Tithing was not followed by the Early Church. Except for a single passage in Hebrews, there is no record of any instruction or command on tithing. It was Constantine who initiated a form of tithing but Tithing was really established and practiced from 900 AD. Coming to the Hebrews passage…If Melchizedek is pre incarnate Jesus or symbolic of Jesus (as many preach) and then Abraham tithed to Jesus. So they say, give your tithes to Jesus through the Priests, through the Church. Who are the Priests? Every Christian. Who is the Church? Every Christian together forms the Church, not just the Pastors. The Book of Hebrews when studied properly will show you that it is a Book of comparison, saying Jesus is better and the New covenant is better. Above all, we don’t know for sure who is Melchizedek…all we have are just theories. Never build truth over theories.
No Leader has the right to scare or manipulate people saying:”If you don’t give tithes, God will curse you” “Your husband is like this because you didn’t give money to the Church” “Your Son is sick because you robbed God by not giving tithes” or even the lighter ones “Give, if you want to be blessed”. We are Blessed because of the Finished work of Jesus and making these statements is insulting Jesus and His work.
Now that we have punched out the errors in the teaching on Tithes and Offerings. Let’s talk about Giving under the New covenant.
We Give because we Love God not to get from God. God will take care us because we are His children not because we give. Love gives, so we give because we Love God.
We give because we are Givers. God is a Giver and through the finished work of Jesus we have been transformed into Sons and Daughter of God, who are like Him. We are Givers like our Daddy in Heaven.
We must give because we want to give not because we have to give. We must give from our Hearts not just give because the offering plate has come to our place.
We must give with the revelation that God is our source not our jobs. Most Christians are blocked in their giving because they consider their jobs as their source which is nothing but a poverty mindset. Grow up Kiddo…God is your Daddy and He is the owner of this whole world.
If you are following the traditional way of religious giving or if you are casual and lazy about giving, then I would request you to go to God and ask Him to deal with you. Giving is something natural for a Christian. When you really walk with God, giving will be like a flowing river: it flows continuously not just on Sundays. It is not just about giving but becoming a Giver like our Daddy. A Giver lives in a higher realm than those who just give. If you have a problem with the foundations, then you don’t know “who you are and what you have in Christ”. Ask God to awaken you to your Identity.
Think about this: In the Old, they gave 10% of their produce. In the New, they sold their houses and lands, and put the money at the Apostle’s feet. This is what I call New Covenant Crazy Giving. New covenant Giving is Higher and Greater and Crazier!!!
Fellow Believers who are in Need.
I never said we must not give to Churches and Ministries, I just said Tithing is not a Law. What many Christians don’t understand is that spiritual blessings and material/financial blessings are connected. When someone blesses you spiritually, you bless them materially/financially. This is different from the garbage many preach:”If you need this blessing, send a check for $$$$$$”. If someone tells you:”Send me money, you will receive a special anointing” “Send me money, you will be blessed or healed”, Don’t send him your Money, send him your Shoe. Peter went Mad, when Simon the Sorcerer wanted to give money for a spiritual blessing. It is no Light matter.
You don’t give to get spiritually blessed (this is “have to”: Law). You get spiritually blessed and then give in return because you want to. You give because you are grateful. It will be natural for a Christian. Leaders are working hard for the Kingdom and for the spiritual growth of the saints; they must be honored and taken care of.
Pastors who do their work well should be “paid well” and should be “highly appreciated”, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scriptures say, “Never tie up the mouth of an ox when it is treading out the grain—let him eat as he goes along!” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!”. 1 Timothy 5:17-18(TLB) : The Major Translations say “Double Honor” meaning more Honor must be given to your Spiritual leaders than the other people in your life. Honor in the Bible doesn’t just mean respect, it means “taking care of”. Honor your parents means “take care of them”. That’s why this translation says “Paid well”. It says “those who preach and teach”. Who preach and teach?? Leaders, 5 fold ministers.
Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing “all” good things with them. Galatians 6:6(NLT).
Why don’t Leaders in the church work like Paul??
Paul was able to work as a tent maker because he had no family. He was able to turn the time available for family to work. On the other hand, Peter didn’t work because He had a family to attend to. Jesus asked Peter to quit his job. So the point is, it is impossible to serve as a Leader in the Kingdom, have a family and work on the side like Paul. People who know the Lifestyles of Real Leaders, won’t ask this question…It is tough, it is hard work.
Should I give tithes to my Church??
Give because you want to give not because you have to. Don’t give out of fear, Give in Faith. Don’t be stuck with the 10%, give more. It is also up to you, there are no hard and fast rules. Mr. William Colgate, the owner of the Toothpaste company COLGATE, gives 90% to the church. You may think He is giving because He has a Huge amount of money. No, He is giving because He has a Huge Heart like His Daddy God. Be a Giver.
Should I give Tithes and Offerings only to my Local Church??
I was a part of one Church. Now I moved to another place and being a part of another. Can I send 5% to each??? Or I’m being blessed by two Churches or two ministries or two leaders, should I send 5% to each??
When someone asks me a question like this, I know that the person’s source is not God but their job, they are money minded and don’t know about New covenant giving. A Giver will send 10 % or more to each because He wants to give and God is His source.
What if a Pastor or Leader is misusing the money or Is Money Minded?
Don’t give. Direct your giving somewhere else. Moreover, don’t judge someone just because your friend told you or someone posted an article on Facebook. Research about the matter in person, Go to God and then act.
Should I give Monthly or Weekly??? Should I give Tithes and Offerings or Just Offerings??
You would have heard this super spiritual statement made by many Christians. Good kids don’t use this statement, only naughty kids do. If you want to go by this statement, I want to see a life and work in the level of Jesus or just in the level of Paul. If you are totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to direct you in your giving, then you must be directed by the Holy Spirit in every other area and must be turning the world upside down for the Kingdom of God…Caught you…Being led by the Holy Spirit is based on our Maturity in Christ. We have to mature and keep maturing to be led by the Holy Spirit more clearly and effectively. And Holy Spirit doesn’t always give Visions with Hollywood 3D effects to lead us, He leads us by gentle nudges.
So, give with the foundations rooted in your hearts because this statement is used by Christians who are selfish and lazy to give. Moreover, if you are really led by the Spirit you will be giving “too much” and we need to get “The Undertaker, HHH and the Big Show” to stop you from giving “too too much”. Be a Good kid!!!
Note: I believe in the Leading of the Holy Spirit. I always go:”Daddy, tell me what to do, how to do”. But many have started to use these statements lightly, that’s why I added this passage.
On one hand, there are Leaders who proclaim:”If you don’t give tithes and offerings, you will come under a curse”, “If you want to be free from debt, give me this much money”, “If you send money to my ministry, you will get hundredfold in return”(Sounds like a better Business!!!)”. Many believe these lies coughed from these Leaders and send them their money. On the other hand, there are believers who got offended with these Money minded preachers and say:”Churches are Money minded. Ministries are Money minded. So No more giving…My money stays with me”. And you also have the casual, selfish and lazy Christians who struggle to give.Both sides are wrong because those Leaders are focused on getting money out of people’s pockets and these believers are focused on keeping money in their pockets.
We Live for the Kingdom of God, We build His Kingdom on earth not our own Kingdoms. When we are free from Money mindedness and learn to rest in Daddy’s arms, then we will expand the Kingdom of God in a violent way. If you are not Kingdom Minded, you will be Money Minded. Money mindedness is not just “wanting more money” but also “focusing too much on the money you have”. Be Kingdom Minded. Above all, your money is not your money. The energy you use to earn money is not your energy. God is All in All.
What Now???….”Tithes and Offerings” is not a Law. We are under Grace and We Give but in a different way. Meditate on Matthew 6:25-33 and ask God to reveal you about His Fatherhood. Walk in Freedom. Don’t give into the devil’s lies. Be a Giver. Dive into New Covenant Crazy Giving. Expand His Kingdom!!!