CONCERNING TITHING
MANY WONDER IF JESUS EVER SPOKE ABOUT TITHING......WELL HERE IT IS:
"WOE, UNTO YOU SCRIBES ADN PHARISEES; FOR YOU PAY TITHE OF MINT AND ANISE AND CUMMON, HAVE OMITTED THE WEIGHTIER MATTER OF THE LAW, JUDGMET, MERCY, AND FAITH: THESE OUGHT YOU TO HAVE DONE, AND NOT TO LEAVE THE OTHER UNDONE" (MATT. 23:23).
NOW THOSE ARE PRETTY PLAIN WORDS I SUBMIT. DO THEY SOUND LIKE JESUS IS "DOING AWAY" WITH TITHING? IF YOU DO, YOU HAVE SOME PRETTY STRANGE WAY OF READING THE BIBLE.
CERTAINLY THERE ARE THINGS WEIGHTIER, GREATER, MORE IMPORTANT, THAN PHYSICAL TITHING; PEOPLE CAN PHYSICALLY TITHE, IT IS AFTER ALL PHYSICAL MONEY; SO PEOPLE CAN DO PHYSICAL THINGS, BUT IF YOU ARE A PERSON WITHOUT JUDGMENT, MERCY, FAITH, THEN ALL YOUR PHYSICAL WHATEVERS.....THEY ARE USELESS AS FAR AS SPIRITUALITY AND BEING A TRUE CHILD OF GOD.
BUT THAT SAID, IT IS ALSO PLAIN TO SEE JESUS SAID YOU SHOULD DO THE FIRST.....
NOT TO LEAVE THE OTHER [THE FIRST] UN-DONE!
I KNOW, I KNOW, SOME WILL COME BACK WITH, "WELL PAUL OR THE OTHER APOSTLES DID NOT SAY WE SHOULD TITHE TO THE CHURCH."
TRUE THEY INDEED DID NOT IN ANY CLEAR WORDS LIKE, "YOU CHRISTIANS NEED TO TITHE TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST."
BUT..... IN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS, MAYBE THE LAST BOOK TO BE WRITTEN BEFORE THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED BY THE ROMANS IN 70 A.D. PAUL, IN CHAPTER 7 GIVES A PRETTY GOOD ARGUMENT THAT AS THE PRIESTHOOD WAS CHANGING, SO SHOULD TITHING BE CHANGING TO THE NEW CHRIST'S PRIESTHOOD. HE ALSO SHOWED TITHING DID NOT BEGIN WITH MOSES BUT WITH ABRAHAM.
SO WHY DID NOT PAUL AND THE OTHER APOSTLES GIVE OUT SOME WORDS THAT SAID CHRISTIANS SHOULD TITHE TO THE CHURCH OF GOD?
AGAIN, PEOPLE JUMP ON THIS AS IF THEY FIGURE THEY HAVE THE ANSWER TO NOT TITHE. THEY LACK BIBLE READING AND RATIONAL THEOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING.
THE APOSTLES AFTER CHRIST SAID NO SPECIFIC WORDS AS "YOU NOW HAVE TO TITHE TO THE CHURCH" BECAUSE......
THE TEMPLE AND PRIESTHOOD STILL WAS STANDING - THAT WAS FROM GOD ALSO - HENCE PEOPLE HAD A RIGHT TO TITHE TO THE PHYSICAL PRIESTHOOD AND TEMPLE SERVICE.
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH HAD NO RIGHT TO TEACH DOGMATICALLY TITHING MUST BE TO THE CHURCH OF GOD!
BUT PAUL KNEW THE TEMPLE WAS SHORTLY GOING TO BE DESTROYED AND THE PRIESTHOOD WOULD COME TO AN END. HENCE HE WRITES HEBREWS CHAPTER 7. TITHING WAS BEFORE MOSES IN ABRAHAM, WAS DURING THE MOSAIC PRIESTHOOD, AND NOW THAT THE PRIESTHOOD WAS GOING TO BE CHANGED OFFICIALLY [WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE] SO A CHANGE IN THE PRIESTHOOD, THERE WAS A CHANGE IN THE "LAW" - THE LAW BEING DISCUSSED IN CONTEXT WAS THE "TITHING LAW."
THIS WHOLE SUBJECT I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT, AND ARGUMENTS ANSWERED IN THE SERIES OF STUDIES ON TITHING ON THIS WEBSITE.
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