1. The tithe is God's minimum, taught by the law, by practice, and by New Testament approval. "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 to the Lord." Leviticus 27:30.
2. God blesses those who are generous with him. "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine." Proverbs 3:9,10.
3. Giving to God should be in proportion to the way God has prospered us. "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper..."
4. Giving to the Lord should be a private matter based on one's own decisions. "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them...Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret..." Malachi 6:1-4
5. God considers our giving an investment; He keeps accounts. "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands or My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting lie." Matthew 19:27-30
6. Offerings to God chould be honestly and fairly handled. 2 Corinthians 8:18-22 and 1 Corinthians 16: 2-3 show that proper precautions should be taken that the money given is administered properly.
7. Those who serve the Lord full time should also give of their substance to the Lord. The Levites were to tithe the offerings given to them, giving their best to the Lord. Numbers 18:26-32
8. God expects both individuals and churches to be generous with those in need. "Blessed is he who considers the poor. The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." Psalms 41:1.
9. God's way of providing for needs is through the gifts of His people. "If a brother or sister is naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, Depart in peace...but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?"
As a reminder, these principles are from Haycock's Encyclopedia of Bible Truths for School Subjects. In this excerpt , I have only included one supporting scripture for each conclcusion, but in the full volume, Dr. Haycock always present multiple scriptures from both Old and New Testaments.
The is nothing Biblical about the tithe being the minimum in the New Testament.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, not everyone tithed in the Old Testament. The ONLY people in the Old Testament that were commanded to tithe were those who INHERITED THE PROMISED LAND WITH EVERYTHING ON IT. They got the land, house, animals, crops, etc. ALL FREE AND CLEAR. No mortgage payment or rent to pay. And THEY were commanded to tithe on the crops and animals and take it to the Levites who INHERITED the tithe INSTEAD OF the promised land with everything on it. No one else tithed. Wage earners did not tithe. Jesus didn’t tithe. Paul didn’t tithe. Peter didn’t tithe.
HOW CAN YOU COMPARE THAT WITH CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE TO PAY THEIR MORTGAGE PAYMENT OR RENT, INCOME TAXES, PROPERTY TAXES, SALES TAXES, ETC?
There is no way to justify making some “principle” out of the Biblical facts and then apply it to Christians today. It is just flat out wrong and makes no sense at all.